Bolt: Dark Reality
by Firepower Phoenix
Summary: The real world hurts... And now that Bolt knows his life is not a movie, he is ready to be a normal dog. But Volt is dying for revenge for what his brother had done to him, and the S.S.A.O.N.A struggles to continue to provide protection for the special white dog. When Volt has a new secret weapon - a machine that is extremely high-tech - Bolt's life is put into danger again.
1. Midnight Training

**Author's Note : Welcome to my new Fanfic! I was not able to write one during the full month of November because of another book challenge that took up all of my free time. So . . .**

 **From my last Fanfic (The Inbetween Race), people were wondering what happened to Volt and Rain. This book will be about them, and all the others. Sorry it is so short.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **~Chapter 1~**

Bolt stumbled out the doggy door, groaning as the flap hit him, pushing him farther into the dark night. He looked up at the moon which was full overhead, bright and shining.

"I am hating you right now," Bolt said into the darkness, looking around. "Come out or I will go back in."

"I wasn't hiding," Sypher said, stepping out from one of the shadows that he had blended in. "I was merely waiting for you to come out."

"I didn't say you were hiding," Bolt shot back, stumbling forward. His eyes were scattered and sleepy, obviously not fully awake. He stopped when he reached the Cattle Dog and sighed. "What are we doing this time, Syph? Last night you wanted to do . . . well, I don't think we did really anything interesting except walk around."

"Tonight will be different, I can assure you that, Bolt." Sypher shook his head with a hidden smile and started walking onto the conrete sidewalk, away from the little cute house that Bolt had moved into with his family just a couple of weeks ago.

He could hear Bolt following him, many feet behind, trudging slowly. After the first few days, Bolt had just followed Sypher when they met at night, knowing that sitting down and refusing to move was useless. The Cattle Dog had just started walking away without another word, leaving Bolt to have to catch up when he realized sitting was doing no good.

"What are we doing tonight?" Bolt asked, going much slower than Sypher, looking around as they got farther from his house. "Please tell me it won't last all night like we did a few days ago. Mittens drove me crazy in the morning, arguing that I should wake up before lunch time."

"Did you?" Sypher asked, arching an eyebrow and looking back to the white dog. He practically glowed, his pure white fur shining in the bright moonlight.

"No," said Bolt. "I stayed in bed until one thirty."

Sypher chuckled and turned back around. This street was where they would cross, continue out of the entire neighborhood, head to the park. It was a smooth move, an easy plan, so long as nothing went wrong.

And it shouldn't; this had been planned in secret to be sure that Volt didn't show up with one of his evil dogs and ruin it, ruin everything. It was dangerous to be out, for Bolt to be traveling with no human in the middle of the dark night, the fact made even more dangerous because Bolt didn't know. He didn't know anything, he hardly even knew Sypher. He did not know anything that was going on behind his back, about everyone who knew him, who were protecting him.

No, he didn't know any of this. For now he was just a normal dog who was walking on the streets with a mysterious and strange old dog. The thought made Sypher smile as he looked back and forth on the street, though it was completely empty of any moving vehicles.

He knew that Arrow would be watching them as well as a whole group of S.S.A.O.N.A members because this was the first time Bolt and Sypher had gone this far. Not that Bolt would realize it, he couldn't care less about the distance.

"I am so dead," Bolt mumbled, still a length behind the other dog. "I am so, so, so dead . . ."

"Come on, Bolt," Sypher said, crossing the road quickly. "We need to get going."

"Come on, Bolt, we need to get going," Bolt mocked in a squeaky, mouse-like voice. "I am hurrying, dog."

Sypher rolled his eyes and started walking across the empty sidewalk. This was what Bolt had said for the past two weeks, including a great more on the topic of not getting enough sleep.

"Sypher, do you realize that you are a maniac? Fully crazy? Insane?"

"Yes, Bolt, I do," Sypher replied, walking on without turning back. "And you are a lost little doggy who can't find his way home."

"Ha ha, very funny."

Now that he had mentioned it, both dogs were brought back to the memory of Bolt's long journey home, Sypher's long journey to find him. The one they had to turn back around once they realized that Bolt was farther ahead of them. Bolt did not know that Sypher knew about his previous life, the one that Bolt had lived over six months ago. In fact, he didn't know much about Sypher at all.

Sypher was thinking when he heard a distant sound of an engine and heard it come closer in a single second. He saw lights flash out of the corner of his eye and now heard a roaring engine. Sypher spun around to see a speeding vehicle zooming down the road, coming quickly to the spot where Bolt was lost in thought, walking in the middle of the road.

"Bolt!" Sypher barked. A sudden memory of several months back to mind - when, on the S.S.A.O.N.A's trip to find Bolt, Carter had chased a butterfly into the road. Rain had saved Carter's life, slightly injuring himself in the process. That thought would have been a wonderful memory of everything that Sypher had taught the stormy colored dog if Rain had not left the society three or so months ago. Now it was a sad memory for Sypher, for Rain had been like his very own pup, a fellow protector against Volt's evilness.

Without realizing it, Sypher had practically flown to the road and hit Bolt, making them both crash onto the other side of the hard road before the car could crush them. The car zoomed past, never slowing. Sypher watched it and was breathing deeply, never letting it fall away from his vision until it turned tightly onto another street.

Then and only then did Sypher get up off Bolt. The white dog had hit the road hard, having the impact of Sypher smashing him into it. His limp form didn't move, completely still and motionless.


	2. A New Weapon

**Author's Note : We're kicking the dust up, peeps. Let me know in the comments who you really want to see in the next few chapters and I'll see if I can do it. ;) Sorry it took me so long, school is almost out so I can write more! :D**

 **~Chapter 2~**

Sypher sat on the cold concrete, looking around, keeping watch. He was sitting in the shadows of the alley that he had dragged Bolt to, hoping that no surprise awaited him. Not the good surprise, the kind that could bring more danger to the society and a victory to Volt's group.

But when he had gotten there, it was empty. After checking over Bolt to make sure he was perfectly fine, no obvious injuries, he had went to keep watch. He knew that Arrow would probably be there soon, in a few minutes - it had only been five minutes since the car had passed.

Sypher had no reaction to what had happened, didn't regret bringing Bolt out in the middle of the night only to have this happen. It would only strengthen Bolt for what would go on later in his life. The only thing that Sypher was thinking about was Rain.

Many things like this had happened to both of them together, in the many years they had been together. Rain was not but half a year older than Bolt and joined the S.S.A.O.N.A when he was three months old. Back then the society wasn't risking their life every day, Volt was still the young son of Arrow and Maria, Bolt hadn't even been born yet.

The dog smiled as he thought about how he had known Bolt for his entire life and just now was he getting to interact with him.

"Sypher," a whisper said, calling Sypher's attention back to the present. Maria was walking toward the dark alley, her bronze eyes shining in the moonlight. "Sypher, is that you?"

"Yes, I'm here," Sypher said, standing and greeting her with a nod of his head. "Are you alone? I was sure Arrow was coming."

"Arrow had some important issues to solve and was unable to keep a lookout because of some vital information Carter intercepted. He doesn't know any of what happened," Maria said, glancing past Sypher to the white dog further in the small alley. "Is Bolt okay?"

"He'll be fine when he wakes up," Sypher smiled softly. "Hit his head a little hard but he shouldn't suffer from anything more than a headache."

"That's good," Maria sighed. "I was so worried that he was going to get hit by that car, thank you for saving him."

"It was no trouble at all," Sypher said teasingly, making the female dog smile.

Maria opened her mouth, but for a second she did not speak. When she did, her voice was soft and in a whisper. "It's been so many years since I have been this close to him. It's so hard to know that we can't reveal ourselves to him, that we might never be able to have him know who we are."

Behind them, Bolt gave a small groan. Maria's eyes darted from the alley to Sypher again.

"I should go now, he can't see me when he wakes up."

"Alright," said Sypher. "Don't worry, Maria, everything will be fine. I will take Bolt back home when he wakes up; tonight just didn't go right."

"Thank you, Sypher." Maria turned and ran down the street, disappearing from sight.

Sypher watched her go and then turned around to walk to Bolt. His eyes had adjusted to the dark now, and it was perfectly easy to see the pure white canine laying on the ground.

 _Something important, but he couldn't remember what. All he knew was that he was running to something, to someone who needed him. The world around him was a blur, not because he was running so fast, but because that was normally how these dreams went. But was it a dream?_

 _His body controlled itself, he couldn't think straight, but he could hear someone on either side of him. Mittens and Rhino, of course, coming to help him. But was that all? Why did he feel that someone else was helping him? And . . . what was going on?_

 _He looked ahead, his eyes finally focusing on what was in front of him, what was coming closer at every second. A building - huge, looming, and there was smoke coming from it. A door - something big and heavy falling over it, blocking the way in._

 _And then it all went black._

Bolt woke with a start, greeted by more darkness, though this was less impenetrable than the dream. He was breathing hard and something felt wrong. He was not on Penny's bed but rather on something hard and uncomfortable. His eyes darted up and was met with Sypher's calm gaze.

"Syph?" Bolt said, blinking as his eyes adjusted. "W-what happened?"

"You obviously weren't thinking straight and nearly got killed by a speeding car," answered Sypher in a very practical tone. "Simple as that."

Bolt nodded and slowly got up, aware of the pain in his head and grimacing. "Ok, so if I didn't get hit, what did happen?"

"I managed to push you out of the way, knocking you onto the concrete, thus resulting in you going unconscious, and me dragging you here."

Nodding again, Bolt looked at the other dog. The white dog was smaller than Sypher, but he looked as fierce as one twice the size. "What was the goal of this nights meeting?"

"Well, I can see you're okay," Sypher turned and started out of the alley, not letting Bolt see him smile. "Come on."

"Where are we going _now_?!" Bolt demanded, running to catch up. "Dog, you're seriously insane."

"Eat your own words, pup."

"I'm not insane." Bolt looked straight ahead as they emerged onto the street, the moon catching again on his fur. "How would you know I am insane? We haven't even been friends for a month! You haven't had time to see how insane I can get!"

Sypher turned his head sideways at Bolt, who was grinning slightly, not completely ready to let it all go. Sypher could see how he thought that what had happened was dangerous, but the older dog knew that Volt, compared to nearly getting run over, was something worse. Someway, somehow he knew that protecting Bolt would not be enough, that he would have to train Bolt for when he would come face-to-face with a true murderer.

"Don't do that," Bolt said, snarling. "Stop that."

"Stop what?" Sypher asked, peering curiously at him. "I wasn't doing anything."

"Yes, you were," said Bolt, looking away and keeping his eyes on the street. "Stop staring at me like that, you're creepy."

Sypher chuckled and looked away, smiling as he took Bolt home.

Four black paws struck the tiled floor, a dog walking slowly through the cold, dark hall. There was no other noise, just the sound of paw nails hitting the floor with every step and his breathing.

Volt turned a corner and now entered a medium sized room, empty save for a black cat sitting with his back turned to him.

"Fabio, you are early," said the dog with a deep, growling voice. "You have good news, then?"

The cat turned around to Volt and let his tail twitch back and forth in an irritated way. "No good news, Volt. Rather bad news. Very bad news indeed."

Volt came and stood beside Fabio, ignoring how the cat glanced quickly at his face, and sat. "No good news? And why is that?"

"Because Arrow and the rest of his sorry little group ruined our plan R and a half," Fabio looked up at the gray ceiling, letting his thoughts settle. "Again, for the third time this year, one of those professional hackers they have got into our system and - instead of stealing the information - they deleted it."

"Meaning . . ." Volt waited expectantly.

"Meaning that we no longer have access to the file so we can't refer back to it and let the dogs know our attack strategy."

The room was deathly silent for a few moments, now noise was heard at all. Fabio risked a glance at Volt, his eye catching once again on the long scar running down his face. It started on Volt's forehead and then went between his eyes, down the left side of his muzzle. After the many months that had passed since the fire, the wound had healed itself into a scar, one that caught eyeryone's eye.

"And yet I have no worries about virtual files," Volt said, brushing it off. "We have something better than strategies, something that can help us destroy all of them and a wide path to my brother."

"Does it have anything to do with the 'secret weapon' you've been hinting to me recently?"

"It does, Fabio, it does. And when we unleash this thing, Arrow will wish they never saw any of Volt's Allegiance of Dark Dogs."


	3. Blocked Spyware

**Author's Note : I am so very sorry for the delay in chapters, I am going through a very hard time right now. I stay almost constantly busy, and when I am not I do not feel like writing. But here we are, finally!**

 **~Chapter 3~**

Carter sat on the stiff ground, staring intensly at the screen on the wall in front of him. It was much longer than him, possibly two to three dogs in length and a clear, white light shone from it.

The Dalmatian's eyes were moving back and forth, left and right, scanning the screen and the gray words and codes and symbols scrolling down. As fast as they were going, he kept up with them, searching for anything suspiscious, mystery, out of the ordinary. His gaze locked on a single line of words and numbers.

"Screen, stop instant scroll on line 738.34." Carter said, watching the screen flicker and raise the line to the middle of the text. He stared at it and twisted his head to the side, making his ears flop.

He continued to turn his head until he was nearly upside down, his tongue now hanging out the side of his mouth. At the exact moment he tipped over and did a somersault, Arrow walked into the room.

"Carter, what on earth are you doing?" Arrow ran over and stared at the dog looking up at him. "What were you doing?"

"Well . . . I was looking at things from a different perspective," Carter grinned, thumping his tail on the hard, wood floor. "Get what I mean?"

Arrow shook his head and backed away, letting the dog bound to his feet. "What were needing to look at in a different perspective anyway?"

"This coding file stuff," Carter gestured to the screen behind him. "I found a strange line of symbols and numbers that doesn't seem to be in any of our data except on this one screen."

Arrow looked up and the line that was highlighted and in the middle of the screen.

 _ **0078.2 BLOCK EDJTA.43 -4;76 INTERRUPT INTERCEPTING SIGNALS 009.5**_

"What does it even mean?" Arrow turned his head to Carter, who had stopped wagging his tail and was back to staring at the computer. "EDJTA? What is that?"

"It's one of our decoders, something that goes along with the intercepting signals," said Carter casually, as if this might be everyday news. "The way we can find out Volt's next moves are through the radio waves in which he is sending information to his other hideouts. That is when we send out our spyware and get the signals as well. But if the EDJTA is blocked . . ."

The Shepherd cocked his head to the side in question, unsure what to think. He knew how the signals intercepted Volt's top secret messages, but how could they be blocked? Though he did not know as much as Carter did when it came to electronics and technology, he knew that this stuff had been programmed and could only be turned on and off by the S.S.A.O.N.A.

"In short," Carter continued. "Someone is trying to hack into our files - all files from 0078.2 to 009.5 - and block our message signals." He was quiet for half a second before reaching his conclusion to the case, "My thought is that Angel clicked something wrong when she was on duty the other day."

"Really, Carter?" Arrow looked at him skeptically. "You think _Angel_ had something to do with this?"

"Well . . . " Carter sighed and sat down. "I give up, never mind. It'll be fine, as soon as I fix it. I just thought it was weird and all . . . but maybe I am making huge assumptions for no reason."

Arrow turned around and walked over to the other wall, to another screen on the wall, swiping his paw across it to turn it on. "It is really your choice, Carter. I wouldn't know who sent it, you're the only one who could track them down. You tell me if it is anything dangerous or not, but we do need the signals back up there. If we don't, that means Volt could attack at any given moment and somehow get Bolt."

"Until I get it up we'll have to monitor the cameras even more so than we do," Carter said, walking toward Arrow. "Is that what you're pulling up?"

"Yes."

The room got silent as Arrow activated the live cameras, picked the one closest to wherever Bolt would be as last reported, and waited for it to load. It was taking longer than usual, but it finally pulled up.

The staircase. The hallway. The rug on the floor. The bookstand on either side of the railing on the staircase. The brown wood stairs that went up and the landing on the second floor. All of it they were able to see because of the cameras that had been posted in Bolt's very own house without anyone noticing. The cameras were the size of a ladybug, a pea, and colored so it blended in with the ceiling. It also had a 360 view.

"There he is," Carter said, motioning toward the white dog that appeared at the top of the stairs. "Audio, on."

They both stood very still and quiet, listening hard because the computer did not have very good audio, making it difficult understand a conversation. Although audio didn't matter most of the time for Arrow or a great many other members of the society - they could lip read very easily. However, Carter couldn't, being a little more on the less practical side of life.

"It isn't _that_ late," Bolt said, glancing behind him before taking the first step. "So what if it is ten o'clock."

A black and white cat with a green collar walked behind him, scowling and upset. "For your information, hero, it is twelve-thirty whether you believe it or not!"

Bolt smiled and continued down the stairs, looking more asleep than he was awake. Arrow suspected he had slept late because of Sypher's 'training' the night before, and everything that had happened according to Sypher. Arrow might have known the reason for Bolt's sleepiness, but Carter did not and felt it was right to question it.

"Stars, why would a dog like him need to sleep until noon?" Carter scowled just as Mittens had. "That us just plain lazy if you ask me."

"I didn't, and I don't think I ever would," Arrow mumbled, switching the camera to a view of the kitchen.

Penny's mother was doing the dishes, the few that were laid in the sink, and Penny was sitting at the kitchen island, working on an essay project for school. When Bolt and Mittens entered the room, Penny smiled down at them.

"It's a good thing you finally decided to wake up, sleepyhead," said Penny, reaching down to pet Bolt as he passed to his food dish. "I thought for sure you might have been dead."

"Might as well have been," Bolt said, knowing the the humans could not understand him. Mittens, however, could understand him and just rolled her eyes, walked to Penny's mother and started purring and rubbing her legs.

Something brown and fuzzy and encased in a ball of plastic zoomed through the kitchen and skidded to a stop a Bolt's legs. Rhino was on his back, panting hard from running that fast inside his ball.

"You . . . where have you . . . been?" Rhino managed to get out, lifting a shaky, small paw to point at Bolt, who had stopped eating when Rhino nearly slammed into him. "The show . . . has almost . . . finished . . . without you!"

Bolt sighed. "Sorry, Rhino. I was delayed."

"Yeah, like sleeping in kind of delayed," Mittens said, giving up on trying to get Penny's mom's attention. "He just woke up."

"Be nice, Mitts," Bolt glared at her before returning to his food. "You wouldn't believe what I went through last night."

"I can only imagine." Mittens shot at him, leaving the room.

Arrow typed in a command and the screen went from the live stream to a blue dog paw with a lightning mark through the center and swirls on each toe pad; the Secret Spy Animals of North America.

"In a little over six months he has sure changed," Arrow whispered, staring at the computer screen. "I never thought he would adapt to normal dog life so quickly."

"He has got that cat, Arrow," Carter shook his head. The thought of living with a feline like that did not sound appealing. "That is all he needs to blend in with the rest of the world."

". . . and all the communications will shut down in less than eigtheen hours, sir. We will be ready to attack Arrow and his watch group as soon as there is no way to get help to them. And then, as your plan simply stated, we will head to the dog's house and steal him, either taking the other animals as well or disposing of them. Once we are done, we will bring them back to -"

"We will get to those steps later on," Volt snapped, swiveling to the messenger dog, a scrawny brown and black coated mutt. "And, as you said before, my plan states all of this. I need not be bothered by the mess of it all."

"Yes, sir," said the dog, backing away. "Sorry, master Volt. Is there any changes you would like to be made before we begin, sir?"

"No, that will be all," Volt watched as the terrified dog quickly left the room, eager to leave his 'master's' presence. It did not bother the black dog one bit; he rather enjoyed seeing others cower to him. It was just another step in the plan, to become the leader over everyone.

And this plan had to work, because it _had_ to. Once Volt's dogs - which he now had named perfectly _Volt's Allegiance of Dark Dogs_ \- had found out that how the S.S.A.O.N.A retreived their attack plans, Volt had come up with an idea that was sure to succeed.

And when he did finish this next mission, his little brother and his powers would be there for him to destroy Arrow and his group.


	4. Trespassing

**Author's Note : So I kind of took a break over the week . . . but I am now back and ready to work at this! - In one of the reviews, someone said it would be cool if Volt had metallic limbs from the fire, technically making him a cyborg type dog. Well, I am afraid I cannot grant that wish because (*hint hint*) he does get them LATER ON in the FanFictions. ;D**

 **...**

 **~Chapter 4~**

With his head resting on the ground in between both white paws, Bolt sat and watched a little green bug, so transfixed by it that he hardly dared to breathe. The bug took a tiny step, for it had short legs, and Bolt's eyes twitched, following it's every move.

A few feet in front of Bolt, the grass flattened under the weight of a black cat as she moved closer and closer to him. She stopped right before her paws touched the bug and looked down, making Bolt look up at her.

"What are you doing?" Mittens questioned.

"Watching this weird little bug," he replied, his gaze drifting back to the insect, still in the green grass. "He's so . . . so unnaturally colored."

Mittens bent down and peered into the grass, finally spotting the bug. She laughed as the realization that Bolt had no clue what it was. "It's a grasshopped, genius! Don't tell me you didn't know that?"

"A grasshopper?" Bolt's eyes widened slightly. "I must say, what a fitting name for this kind of thing. Well, almost. He likes to play in the grass, yes, but I don't think he hops."

"Wanna bet?" Mittens grinned and then sprung upward, landing inches away from the grasshopper. Before Bolt could blink or even flinch from surprise, the bug spread out its wings and soared through the air, landing several feet away from them.

Bolt jumped up and stared at the spot the bug had landed. Tearing his gaze away from it, he looked at Mittens in amazed surprise.

"Told you," Mittens said, flipping her tail back and forth, wearing a smug look on her black face. "Honestly, pooch, after half a year you'd think that you would be able to identify every day, normal insects!"

Shrugging and smiling at the same time, Bolt cocked his head, the fading sun illuminating him. "In my defense, Mitts, I spent five years in show business and only half a year learning to be a real dog." He paused for a moment before a teasing smile crossed his face. "I feel as though you'd rather spend your time with a truly domesticated, one hundred percent house dog instead of being with someone exciting like me."

"Ha!" Mittens laughed and launched herself at the dog.

Bolt easily dodged out of the way, but Mittens landed on her paws like a professional, turning back and attacking him again. This time Bolt did not move quick enough and she hit him, sending both of them tumbling in the grass.

They were both laughing but it instantly reminded Bolt of the night before, when he and Sypher had gone out. But nevertheless, it did not dull their joyful mood one bit. But if Mittens had known . . .

Suddenly, Mittens stopped pretending to scratch his fur and stood up straight, her tail pointing directly to the sky and his eyes staring in one direction. Bolt, suddenly on alarm, got up as well and looked to what she saw. Standing there, by the tall fence that went around the entire yard, stood a dog.

He had short fur, was taller than both Bolt and Mittens, and his coat was a mixture of dark gray and something that could be described as bluish. He wore a smile on his face as if he had been watching the two of them roll in the grass and found it quite amusing.

"Bolt . . ." Mittens whispered, not daring to take her eyes off the stranger. "W-who is this?"

"Sypher!" Bolt barked, wagging his tail. "What are you doing here?"

"I was out looking for you," Sypher explained simply, his way of doing most things. "I heard your voice and came to find you. The gate was open, which is unsafe, but quite inviting."

The fur on Mittens's back raised up, not trusting him. Who just welcomed themselves into the yard, especially a stranger? But was he? A stranger? Bolt seemed to know him, but . . .

"Mittens, meet the long haired water stealing boy," Bolt grinned widely, glancing at Mittens. "I didn't think he deserved to be called a man. It is so weird, though, how he just came up and started drinking water from the hose without asking. I mean, what if I had put poisenous water in there for . . . I don't, wild fishes who might have come by? What if it had _killed_ him?!"

Sypher was no longer smiling but rather staring at Bolt with a confused expression, as was Mittens. Confused was her look, but also even more untrustworthy than it had been before.

Looking to the sky, Bolt sighed and rolled his eyes. "Never mind, forget that. Mittens, this is _Sypher._ An acquaintance of mine . . ."

All of them were silent for a time before Mittens broke it and scowled, glaring at the Cattle dog. "Who on earth does he think he is, coming onto our private property without permission?" She started advancing a few steps, looking as if she was going to attack him. "I don't care if he was an acquaintance, a friend, or your father, he SHOULD NOT ENTER OUR YARD WITHOUR PERMISSION!"

"Mittens, just relax," said Bolt, hurrying in between them, his back turned toward Sypher. "I told him he could come in and look for me if I forgot that we were supposed to meet this evening, _right Sypher_?"

Catching on, Sypher nodded his head without saying anything, letting Bolt handle the lunatic cat. Or maybe she was just like all the other cats - it didn't really matter because Sypher was never in favor of the feline species, though never quick to judge.

"And we will be leaving now," Bolt started backing up into the other dog, nodding his head in a jerky movement toward the front gate. "See you, Mitts!"

"Bolt, who said you could leave?" She asked, walking on stiff legs forward. "We were in the middle of . . . um, doing whatever we were just doing."

"Yes, but now it is time that I leave," Smiling, Bolt stopped right before they turned the corner of the house and looked back at the cat. "If I promise to be home before it gets dark, can I go with Syph?"

Looking between the two of them, Bolt and the mysterious dog who had trespassed on their land and who supposedly knew Bolt, Mittens sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. But you had better be back or I will give you a lecture you ain't never heard before!"

Without another second wasted, Sypher and Bolt exchanged glances and ran out of the yard, away from Mittens, and onto the sidewalk.

 **...**

"She is . . . very _defensive,_ " Sypher commented as Bolt and him walked side by side, away from the house. "It was almost like she was going to kill me for trying to find you."

"That is normally how she is," replied Bolt, staring ahead at the dropping sun, the vibrant yellow and orange colors it spread over every surface. It was nearly blinding but too much of a pretty sight to not stare. "She is pretty protective over the things that are specifically hers, and the property is one of them."

"And you, too?" Sypher joked as they turned the corner of the street.

"Sometimes she does, when I haven't upset her," Bolt finally tore his gaze away from the sun. "Mittens has an attitude."

"That she does," said Sypher, slowing just a bit to cast a glance all around.

Nothing was supposed to happen, according to what information they had intercepted on its way to one of Volt's hideouts. The only recent information had been about a possible surprise attack for the S.S.A.O.N.A on patrol next weekend, and that was easily rearranged so that it would be Volt's dogs surprised instead of their own. So far, everything was going good. But the Cattle Dog would never stop looking out for danger. And besides, it had seemed a little too quiet, a little too long since Volt tried anything more dangerous than a surprise attack.

After several long minutes of silence, Sypher stopped suddenly, waiting for Bolt to do the same. In the silent minutes in which both of them had not been talking to the other, Bolt's mind had wandered and he didn't even realize that Sypher had stopped immediately. He just continued walking straight ahead, his thoughts as high as the clouds.

"Bolt," Sypher said flatly, not at all impressed with Bolt's inability to keep a clear mind.

Bolt stopped with one of his front paws in mid step. He turned his head to look at Sypher, confused as to why he wasn't walking right next to him.

"What?"

"You need to concentrate on your surroundings," said Sypher, walking to where he stood. "You can't just expect me to lead you around."

"If you hadn't noticed, Syph, you are kind of leading me around," Bolt shrugged. "I have no clue where we're going and you do, so . . . yeah."

"But if had stopped and you kept going, when would you come back to earth and realize I wasn't with you?"

"Oh, I don't know. But I mean, even if I did lose you I would be perfectly capable of finding my way back home. It wouldn't be much of a danger."

"Yes, it would."

"No, it wouldn't."

Sypher sighed, getting annoyed not completely at Bolt, but at the fact that he could not let Bolt know _why_ it would be dangerous. He could not tell him _who_ was searching for him. He could not even tell him who he _truly_ was.

Taking a deep breath, Sypher stared at Bolt. "You know what? I know exactly where we should go."

"Wait." Bolt said right before Sypher took off, stopping him. He looked appalled. "You didn't know where we were going before?"

"Well, I had a general idea, but no, not really." Sypher grinned and started fast-walking. "Come on, Bolt! We have to get there soon!"

"Ugh, fine, I'm coming."

Behind a house across the street from the two dogs was another dog, watching them go. As soon as they left from his sight he crept out and ran down the sidewalk, running to tell his 'master' that the plan was working perfectly.


	5. The Pain of a Memory

**Author's Note : Hi, readers! First off, I wanted to say that Bolt and the chartacters are DISNEY - I do not own them. Arrow, the S.S.A.O.N.A, Volt and all of his dogs are purely from my imagination, and one of the main reasons I do not let people use them in their stories is because I will be writing an actual book with them. :) This chapter was partly inspired by Shawn Mendes song "Stitches". No copyright etc... intended.**

 **~Chapter 5~**

 _"_ _Just like a moth drawn to a flame._

 _Oh you lured me in, I couldn't sense the pain."_

 **...**

The sun was barely showing on the horizon anymore, hardly a slit of light, and yet they were still traveling.

The scenery had changed from city sidewalks and streets and cars and lots of people to grass and trees. Sypher had led Bolt away from the city, to a secluded area that was empty, save a few people. They were now making their way up a small hill, if it could even be called that. The slight feeling of walking getting harder was the only way you would have known it was a hill.

It was quiet, but in a very peaceful way, with a few night birds starting to wake and stretch their wings, calling to all of their friends or just singing the song of night. There were some children running down the hill while their parents just watched them and laughed when the stumbled, but got back up and continued running. No one noticed the two dogs as they made their journey up.

"I take it that you have no intentions of getting me back home before it gets completely dark, do you?" Bolt asked, glancing behind him. He was farther up than he had realized, farther away from the city than he had expected. From here he could see the towns lights, their neon signs blurred, car lights moving in a calming way.

Bolt lifted his nose into the air. The smell of rain was near, but it would be a good while until it came to where they were. Nothing to worry about. He was not worried about anything.

"We are almost there, Bolt," Sypher said, ahead of the dog who had stopped. "Hurry up."

Turning back to the hill, Bolt continued to walk, catching up to Sypher quickly. "I don't see why you brought me out here."

"Because you needed a break from all that noise and chaos of the city," Sypher glanced at him, then back at the top of the hill that was coming into view. He was silent for a few moments. "Bolt, I need to know something."

"Um . . . okay?"

Taking a deep breath and letting it go, Sypher asked, hesitantly, "What is your worst fear?"

Bolt had not expected that kind of question, but he hardly expected any of Sypher's odd, off-timed questions. In the time they had been friends, he had learned to accept most of the questions asked, despite their curiousness.

 _Are you happy with life? What would you do if you saw a dog and had an uneasy feeling about him? Is there anything you wish you could change about yourself?_

Those questions that had come up previously had been easy to answer because Bolt always had something to counter them with, be it another questions or he just evaded the question completely. If he didn't do those two, he answered it as a joke and was amused when Sypher grew agitated.

But some questions, unlike the others, seemed to have a haunting feeling to them, like something deeper was on Sypher's mind than innocent questions.

He did not know how to answer, not wanting to tell the truth but not exactly wanting to lie either. He felt that there was more importance to this than what Sypher was letting on to.

"My worst fear?" Bolt repeated, staring straight ahead, but stopping right before the reached top of the hill. He decided right then that he would not tell the other dog his absolute worst fear, but would give him one that was pretty close. "That would probably have to be fire."

Sypher stared at Bolt, and for one of the first times Bolt stared back with a defiant look. A you're-not-ever-going-to-know-that look. The Cattle Dog sighed and kept walking, glad to have finally reached the top. He smiled when he saw what he had been hoping was there.

When Bolt got there, he looked around and his eye's widened in surprise.

The moon had risen, covered by clouds and dulling the light, and the sun was nothing more than the lightest ray of light. And all around, floating in the air were tiny dots of blinking lights, a deep yellow color. They were flying and fluttering around, strange and weird - Bolt had never before seen one.

Smiling, Sypher turned his head toward Bolt, who was blinking in amazement and staring all around at the tiny blinking lights.

"These are light bugs, something commonly found in the summer," Sypher explained, watching them now as they starting coming closer to where they were, hundreds upon hundreds of them in the night sky. "Some say that their blinking glow is created from fire inside of them, also giving them the term 'fireflies'."

"They're _bugs_?" Bolt stepped forward with his head tipped up, unable to take his eyes away. "And they have fire _in_ them?"

Sypher shrugged. "Some say they do."

Fascinated and amazed at something he had never seen, Bolt stepped closer to the bugs, looking left and right to the sky. They all glowed, their lights fading, then returning, fading, then returning, in no obvious order. It could be described as magic,the way light was emitted from tiny _insects._

The Cattle Dog just stood there and watched, smiling and watching as Bolt made his way into the center of the fireflies, jaw dropped in awe. His mind wandered from Bolt's ignorance to another dog, a blacker, bigger version of Bolt. Not only was he black in color but he was black in his heart, pure evil.

It was strange to think that two brothers, once so close, could now be so different and separated. So separated, in fact, to the point that one of them didn't even know he had a brother. He didn't know practically anything, nor was he prepared for anything.

But that was why Sypher and him were there, to take the first official step in training; conquer a fear.

When Sypher brought his attention back to the hilltop, Bolt was standing across from him, grinning at him through many lightbugs that were in between them. Sypher returned the look.

"I now see what you were doing, and don't ask me how you knew ahead of time," Bolt said, narrowing his eyes in fake suspiscion. "You're creepy, and you should realize that."

"I already do," Sypher said.

 **...**

"Don't even think of it," Angel growled, stepping out of the darkness and into the light from the street. "If you take one more step forward, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

"Now, sweet heart, you shouldn't be out here this late at night," the dog smirked, lowering himself into an attack position. "What can you do to stop me?"

"Everything," she responded, letting the fur raise up on her back, making her appear twice her original size. "If you want to take that chance, go ahead."

The dog chuckled and looked behind him. "Bruno, Rocky, looks like we got ourselves a little girl to have fun with."

Two dogs came from behind the brown mutt, as if they were illusions, or had just seeped out of the ground and turned into dogs. Angel had not seen them there, but was hardly worried.

"Now, missy, are you still sure you'd like to play this little game?"

"More than ever," Angel glanced behind her as two other S.S.A.O.N.A members came from the dark shadows from a house. They came forward and stood on either side of her, just like the dog's guards. "Are you still wanting to play?"

The dog growled and took a step back, as did his companions. "You will get it one day, dog. You will regret ever seeing us."

"That will be the day," She said as they turned abruptly and ran off, away from them. Angel let out a sigh of relief and turned to the two dogs. "Thank you, both. It's good knowing there is backup when you need it."

"My pleasure," Poppy, one of the dogs, smiled and said. "It's a good thing Arrow never sends us out in packs of one. That would be deadly."

"Sadly, it would be." Said the other dog, a male named Kemp. "You never know what Volt is going to do when you're not looking or expecting anything."

"It's also a good thing we just so happened to be crossing this street tonight. Carter didn't tell us anything about any of Volt's dogs attempting anything tonight." Angel looked left and right, making sure no one else was around. They were in a small, quiet neighborhood next to Bolt's - not many people would be walking the streets at nine thirty.

"I heard he is having technical trouble with the computers," Kemp said as they started walking down the street. "He can't seem to figure it out, nor can -"

In a blink of an eye, something slammed into him, making him hit into Poppy. They fell to the ground with the unseen attacker snarling on top of them. Something hit into Angel, making her fall to the hard sidewalk, and she barely had a good look at who was on her.

Rain.

The next moment, blackness was all that was around her.

 **...**

Finally, after a good long time, Sypher and Bolt were making their way down the hill again. It had grown late, later than Mittens would probably like. But none of them really cared, they were in high spirits.

Until Bolt started thinking deeper about everything.

Fire. _Fire._ Those words held so much meaning to Bolt. Fire was his enemy, something that he felt was totally against him. He would never grow to like it, not after he had almost lost his Penny to it. But, as Sypher had showed him tonight, fire wasn't always bad. If it was true that the bugs had fire inside of them, how come they didn't burn up right away.

The pain that the memory of the fire at the studios was sudden and almost overwhelming to Bolt, every flickering of it sparking a pain somewhere else. Why couldn't he just enjoy this? Why did he have to think about these things when he had had fun, had been enjoying himself, was with someone who he could actually rely on as a good friend?

Was there something he missing in this mess of a life?


	6. Traitor

**Author's Note : I am very sorry for not keeping up with this, I am under some really busy and difficult times. But I promise to work harder at it.**

 **~Chapter 6~**

As Bolt had expected, Mittens had been severly upset when he had not returned by sunset. She had been very upset when he had arrived later than his bed time. Penny had been scared that something had happened to him, Mittens had said to Bolt, though Rhino informed him later that Penny's mother had assured her that he was safe.

Bolt had practically ignored Mittens after Sypher dropped him off back at his house, only rolling his eyes in response to her complaining. He was too tired to even care.

So tired, in fact, that he had slept late once again, late enough to miss breakfast and nearly lunch. When he came downstairs after just awakening, Penny had expressed her concern for his health, questioning why he kept sleeping late.

"Probably because some strange mutt takes him to unknown places and keeps him there for four hours straight," Mittens mumbled, glaring in his direction.

"That's probably it, kitty," Bolt sighed and sat down next to Penny's chair, letting her rub his furry head. "You're normally always right."

Mittens nodded her head in triumph. "Exactly. Now you're talking sense."

"She knows everything," Rhino whispered, rolling past Bolt and Mittens. "She knew when I was trying to get into the living room to turn on the TV and watch Revenge of the Raven! And when I was trying to get into the bag of wood chips, and when I had stuck her leash in the dog water . . . _she is the strange one_."

"Can't argue with that," Bolt fake-whispered back, enjoying the expected glare Mittens gave him. "Anyway, what's on today, Rhino?"

"Let's see, the kitten cam is on the pet channel, food baking championships is going on the cooking network, and the weather is talking about the snow storm in Alaska," The chubby hamster shrugged, rolling his ball into the living room. "Nothing exciting to watch right now."

 **...**

At the S.S.A.O.N.A HQ's, the conversation had nothing to do with TV, sleeping late, or strange dogs. The constant discussion was about the three dogs who had gone missing.

Angel, Kemp, and Poppy, the three scouts outside of Bolt's neighborhood, had mysteriously gone missing while patroling the area and awaiting Sypher and Bolt's arrival. The cameras had mysteriously stopped working four minutes and thirteen seconds before hand, unbeknownest to everyone. Carter was supposed to have been watching the cameras in that sector, except he had been called by someone else to help fix the radio waves cable.

And now everyone was confused as to what was going on, who was doing what when they disappeared, if anyone had been around to witness anything.

No one had.

Bright and early in the morning, Arrow called a conference in the main meeting room for many of the members of the society.

"Could this be the work of Volt, or some other unknown group?" Maria questioned, sitting at Arrow's right side at the elevated, large wood plank that was supposed to be a table. "I remember last year a still unknown group tried to kidnap Carter, but Sypher and Rain managed to stop them. Could it be them again? They said they wouldn't stop until they had at least one of the top dogs of the S.S.A.O.N.A."

"We might not know who they are, even after nearly a whole year, but we were sure that they aren't based anywhere near here, so ruling them out would be the best choice as in the process of elimination." Said Sypher, glancing around at the other dogs. "My best guess would be Volt; we know that he is able to shut down some of our cameras, as we've seen recently, but even though he hasn't attempted something like this in a long time, it doesn't mean that it couldn't happen."

"But why would Volt go and kidnap Angel and her guards?" A smaller dog, Risco, asked from across the table. "It's understandable why someone would want to take Carter or someone like you, Sypher, but why them? They aren't as trained as some of us that were out on patrol closer into the city."

"And those closer to some of their hideouts," Maria sighed. "None of it seems to be making any sense."

"Unless that is what Volt is hoping to do," Arrow finally spoke, after hearing what they had to say. "Confuse us and complicate things, making us expect him in the strangest places and them he goes for the main thing we're protecting."

"But he knows we would never stop protecting Bolt," Bing argued, in between a yawn. He did not enjoy waking up this early in the morning, but realized the importance. "Why create a stupid plan like that?"

Sypher sighed before explaining, "For one, it's taking away some of our defenses. Without even slightly trained dogs to patrol the city and neighborhoods, our protection is weak. And secondly, it's getting more dogs and forcing them to join his side and turn against ours."

"Precisely," Arrow sighed and shook his head. "We don't even know where those three dogs are, we don't know if he took them to his main base."

"We don't know where his main base is," said Carter, his eyes pointed at the table. "If he did take them there we wouldn't know where to find them."

"Obviously," Bing snorted. "But really, what are the odds of Volt taking them to his main base? I mean, what if they got out, escaped, and came here and told us where he is located? Surely he thinks of these things."

All around the room the dogs were silent, staring at the dog. It was finally Sypher who said something to break the silence.

"Actually that is a rather brilliant idea," Sypher nodded his head and looked at Arrow at the head of the table. "So brilliant that we didn't think about it, but no doubt Volt did."

"He's a genius, isn't he?" Carter asked and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for them to answer. "Volt's a genius, right?"

"Um, yes," said a dog from the other end of the table.

Carter opened his eyes quickly with an exasperated look on his face. "I knew it! I _knew it!_ He's a genius and we'll never get them back!"

"Yes, we will, Carter. Don't worry." Maria said, patting his shoulder with her paw. "We will get them back and then everything will be perfectly fine again."

The Dalmatian looked up and smiled at her. "Thank you, Maria."

"Carter," Sypher was slightly annoyed at the other dog, wanting to get back on track. "Who is watching the cameras and the coding right now?"

"Sheflee and Snowden," Carter's tail wagged, thumping on the hard wood floor. "I was happy to take a break finally."

"You haven't done anything all night long," Bing murmurred quietly, so that only the dogs closest to him could hear and snicker. Arrow rolled his eyes at them but couldn't resist a smile at the unknown joke.

"Wait, why haven't we set up the GPS trackers on their paw cams?" Arrow cocked his head to the side in question. "We've been able to do that for the past six to seven years, why not now?"

"Because they have been turned off," said a brown and white spotted dog. "Somehow the kidnapper knew the secret code to type in and shut the entire paw cam down. It's strange."

Before anyone else could remark the strangness on how someone of Volt's Allegiance would know how to shut down one of their high-tech trackers, their was an urgent scratching on the door.

"Come in, Alessia," Arrow called.

Another dog entered the room, her eyes wide and her breath coming in loud bursts. It was obvious that she had just run down at least two flights of stairs at rapid speed, in a hurry.

"Alessia! What's wrong?" Maria instantly stood, as did most of the dogs at the rectangular table. "Are you okay?"

"No, I mean, yes, but . . ." Alessia took a moment to calm down and to breathe properly before continuing. "But Volt has kidnapped Rain!"

 **...**

Angel's eyes blinked open, blinked mainly because of the bright ceiling lights shining off all the metal. Metal cages lined up the walls, stacked and in varying sizes - some large enough to fit a Great Dane, some small enough to keep in a little gerbil.

"I see you've finally woken up, Angel," said a voice from outside her cage, making her instantly aware of another dog's presence in the room. She jumped up, glad the cage was tall enough so that she could stand properly, and looked around the room, her eyes locking on the one other dog.

Angel gasped and drew back, her eyes widening as she realized that she had seen this dog. She knew this dog. The last she had seen him was when he and Sypher had been going on duty around Bolt's old house, but she never saw him again after what Sypher had told them.

To her utter amazement, Rain the once strong and diligent member of the S.S.A.O.N.A was standing their, outside of her reach, outside of her locked cage.

"Did I scare you?" The amusement was clear in Rain's voice. He had seemingly changed in the past six or so months since she had last seen him.

He now stood a little taller, taller than her but still shorter than Sypher. His fur was the same exact color, but there was something different in his eyes, in his voice. A certain twinkling, a different sound. It made her want to cower in the back of the cage and hide away until he was gone, but she stood her ground.

"Where am I? And where are Poppy and Kemp?" Angel growled, showing her teeth in defense. Not that she could do anything, still stuck and locked up. "If you hurt them, so help me I will bust through here and tear your heart out with my own teeth."

Rain burst into laughter. "We were always trained to do anything to help, serve, and protect our fellow members in the society. Sypher made that clear to me, as did Arrow and all the others. But no worries, they awoke before you and are already being questioned on a great number of topics."

Getting lightheaded, Angel had to remind herself to breathe, forgetting was so easy when she was standing so close to someone who seemed friendly, yet she knew he could kill her quicker than a blink of an eye. After all, who had trained him? Sypher. No need for any other training.

The metal door open with a squeak of the strong hinges, making both dogs look to see who entered. A black dog, larger than Rain and Angel, entered the room with a serious expression.

"Is the dog awake?" He asked, not even bothering to glance her direction.

"Yes, sir, I was just discussing where her friends are," said Rain, smirking in her direction. "Would you like her to go for questioning too, master Volt?"

Angel gasped, even though she knew who Volt was when she saw him. The knowledge that Rain was now one of Volt's . . . it was astonishing. _How_?

"Not yet, let's finish with those two before we get to her," Volt said. "I have a feeling she will be slightly more difficult to crack."


	7. The Elite Weapon

**Author's Note : Dog, what else is going to stop me from getting chapters out on a daily basis? Right now I am sick, have been sick for the past few days, but I mean what time is better to write than now? :D**

 **~Chapter 7~**

Machines clattered and clanked, engines sputtered and some roared to life, all making some kind of noise. The computers were being manned by many of dogs - his agents, hackers, and the like - and he liked that all of them were functioning properly tonight. They all were against the walls, hundreds of computers all being used to interpret data, ignite engines, and fix problems.

Volt smiled to himself and, though he had tuned out Dumpster's long talk about how everything was going to be fine, let his ears adjust once again so he could hear what he was saying.

". . . and, sir, we have the Elite all ready to go by tomorrow night, all that is left is to finish programming its functionability." Dumpster, the dog who was in charge of updating Volt on every little change to every single invention, said, taking a deep breath while they continued walking down the very long pathway. "It should be right up here on the left."

Each machine they passed, all of the on the right and left sides of the room, far enough away from the wall so a computer could rest there, had it's own use and speciality. The Elite, as Volt called it, was the main one he wanted to see tonight.

Just as Dumpster had said, they were there in only a few steps. Before them lay an oddly shaped computer, very unlike the two next to it. The key board was massive and had colorful buttons mixed in with dull, gray colored ones, code letters written on each, different uses for each.

Volt's grin widened as his eyes grazed over the black screen, taking in every familiar detail about the monsterous machine. Familiar, because he had planned it. He had thought up the idea, blue printed it, and created it for it's one sole purpose. It was finally almost time to release his beauty, the thing he had been working on for what felt like an eternity. It was certainly all he had dreamed and more, and he was just dying to test it.

But he had to be patient, if it was to go according to the plan.

"Will it be ready at eight o'clock _sharp_ tomorrow night?" Volt asked, ignoring a dog as it ran in front of him to plug a cord into the side of the computer-like machine. "No hesitation, no long-running programs, no restarting the instant we turn it on?"

"Not this time, master Volt," Dumpster said proudly, walking closer up to it. "Our technicians have made sure that it will all work as you planned, but smoother and without any kinks. They said that the moment you turn it on, it will be ready for use."

"Does it require a passcode, or did y'all erase that from my orignal creation?" Volt turned his head and raised an eyebrow at the dog. Dumpster gulped, a common response for when Volt gave that look. It was always that scar that made them skittish and afraid of him.

"N-no, we did not erase it from your plans, sir," Dumpster laughed nervously, looking over the computer. "But you no longer have to do it when the machine turns on, you can do it from any of our devices and have it ready to go in fifteen or less seconds. And you can do it ahead of time as well."

Now Volt was quite impressed that they had done something even better than he had expected. It was finally an improvement to the previous works they had altered and created.

"Very well, you have done good," said Volt, after a moment of silence and thinking. "I will be back down here tomorrow, and I expect to have everything ready for the mission. I already have our agents ready for their parts, and I do not wish to be disappointed with a computer difficulty or just plain not being ready. Do you understand?"

With a gulp and a small, barely audible squeak, Dumpster responded, "Yes, sir."

"Wonderful," Volt turned away and started walking down the long hall again, this time without someone jabbering away in his ear about changes in pressure and tempature. A smile crept up his face again he thought of tomorrow, the day he would finally take over the entire S.S.A.O.N.A's electronics, special devices, cameras, and finally capture his unsuspecting brother.

 **...**

The rain sounded heavy, heavier than they said it was supposed to get. The lightning was also fiercer than been told, the wind hitting the side of the house harder and stronger.

 _Stupid weather people,_ Mittens thought to herself, curling into a tighter ball than just a minute ago. _But at least Bolt will stay home tonight and I can get a decent sleep._

She fell asleep with that thought, a comforting one, a reassuring one - she knew that Sypher would not come for Bolt in this torrent of rain.

Unlike her, Bolt lie awake next to Penny's side, not far from either Mittens or Rhino. He was staring at the ceiling, the glow-in-the-dark stars. Some of them were the colors of the galaxy, especially the paint that made it look like a thousand tiny stars, while the bigger ones glowed a neon green, sometimes appearing a yellowish. No matter the color, it kept his mind going.

Sypher had said that he would pick Bolt up tonight. He was probably unaware that it was going to storm tonight, as it was doing right now, and most likely would not come.

Bolt did not know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Good because he thought he could get a decent night's sleep, which he hadn't done for quite awhile because Sypher always insisted they 'train' at night. But now that he was in bed, everything had quieted down except for the raging storm outside, Bolt found himself unable to fall asleep. He found it rather ironic, maybe even a little bit funny.

He decided that, even if he couldn't sleep, he could at least be at home, with Penny, free of any workout exercises or long sprints around the park. Now he could just relax and think about anything he wanted without Sypher trying to take up his thoughts.

This worked all well, resting and thinking about tomorrow's breakfast, until Bolt got thirsty. At first it was just a small nagging feeling in the back of his mind and he was able to push it away, but then it got stronger to where it was like he swallowed salt.

Sighing, Bolt rolled over completely, but instead of rolling onto his other side he fell off the bed, landing on his feet with hardly any noise, thanks to the soft carpet. Glancing upward to the tall bed and hoping he hadn't waken Mittens, he smiled and silently walked to the half open.

He stepped out and turned left, then crept down the polished wood staircase, happy that his nails had recently been cut short and that they didn't make a sound while going down. Quietness was something Sypher had been teaching him, and Bolt only practiced for the fun of it.

He walked into the kitchen, but gasped and drew back when, as a strike of lightning lit up the room, he saw a dog, sitting on the floor and staring at him.

Bolt's heart was beating so fast that he was afraid that it would stop altogether if it sped up any more. He wanted to move back more, but was paralyzed by surprise, afraid that moving would cause the stranger to attack.

The dog waited a few moments before he did anything, before he even moved. When he did, he stepped forward, but Bolt couldn't get a good look at his face in the darkness.

Thunder crackled outside, the wind picked up harder for half a second, but Bolt could not hear it over the beating of his heart.

"Bolt?" The dog said, his voice so very familiar to the white dog, who was crouched down only a few steps away.

It took Bolt several long moments to finally understand what the dog said, and figure out who the dog was. It was not until lightning flashed and the light came in through the windows that he finally saw who it was.

"Syph?" Bolt whispered, unable to catch his breath. "Is that you?"

"Yes," Sypher said, stepping closer, but not too close as if Bolt was going to be frightened again. "Are you okay?"

Taking a deep breath and blinking his eyes a few times, Bolt managed a tight nod, slowly getting into a normal standing position. When his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness he could see the Cattle Dog, standing before him, an amused look on his face. Bolt's breathing had yet to return to normal and his chest was still pounding hard, but his nerves had finally stopped jumping and he could meet Sypher's gaze.

"I didn't mean to scare you," A small smile came onto Sypher's face, though he tried to hide it. "I was waiting for you to come down and the kitchen seemed like the best place."

"You didn't scare me," Bolt said it with nonchalance, but his stare turned icy. "You gave me a _heart attack_."

"So very sorry, Bolt, but I thought I told you yesterday to be prepared for anything," Sypher turned and walked back into the kitchen. As he was watching him, Bolt saw that the other dog was wet, probably from being out in the soaking rain, coming all the way there.

"Wait," Bolt followed him, careful to stay out of the wet spots so he stayed completely dry. "How did you get in here?"

"Some things just can't be revealed, only time will tell," Sypher said in a mysterious voice. One of Bolt's eyebrows rose as if to say _really, dog?_ Sypher gave him what he hoped was a charming smile and sat down near the edge of the table. "So . . . are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" Bolt growled, sitting down across from him, not liking the idea of how the dog could have gotten in the house when all the doors were locked. "It's pouring outside, and with my luck I would get struck by lightning before the night was over."

"No worries, Bolt, we are not doing anything out there."

"Well then what are we doing? I just came down here for a drink of water!"

"I wasn't stopping you."

"Yeah, you kind of did!"

"I was just sitting in the kitchen."

" _My_ kitchen, on a _dark_ and _stormy night._ "

Sypher sighed and closed his eyes, tilting his head up to the ceiling in an annoyed gesture. "Bolt . . . do you want to get a drink of water before we begin?"

"No, thank you. It's seems I lost my thirst." Bolt replied coolly. "Whatever you have planned, let's get it over with so I can go back to bed."

"Do you want to go back to bed?" Sypher asked.

"Well, not now!" Bolt growled, shifting into a more comfortable sitting position. "You have my interest, hurry up and explain what we're doing."

Sypher sighed and gave up, focusing his attention on Bolt again. "We are going to give your brain a workout."

"A workout? My brain?" The white dog laughed, the idea sounding completely ridiculous. "That is insane, Syph. It's . . . what? Midnight? My mind is supposed to be _resting,_ not working out!"

"Okay, do you want to wait until tomorrow then?"

Bolt rolled his eyes and looked away. "No," he mumbled.

"Then let's get started." Sypher settled into a better sitting position and stared at Bolt, skeptical as to if he was awake enough for it. Bolt was glaring back at him, ready to shoot down any comments the other dog would give. "Are you able to concentrate?"

"Why not?" Bolt grumbled. "It's only midnight."

"Yeah, right," Sypher whispered before clearing his throat. "Okay, imagine a blue circle, turning around and around in circles. Can you do that?"

"A circle, spinning, blue. Got it." Bolt's eyes were closed and he looked as if he was not paying much attention. "Keep going."

"Okay, now that one circle turns into two of them, side by side, still spinning." Sypher closed his own eyes, giving up on trying to watch Bolt to make sure he did everything right. "And now it turns into four, making a square. They are all the same color, all spinning at the same time. Now imagine more of them, making a 3-D square box. Change that shape by adding more to make a rectangle, then use all of those circles to create a triangle, without overcrowding it."

"Dog, this is difficult," Bolt murmurred.

"Okay, now change three-fourths of the spinning circles to the color of green, and make them spin backward. Make sure they are on the far side of the triangle, the left side."

"Mmm hmm."

"And then take that triangle and . . ."

 **...**


	8. Unsuccessful Questioning

**Author's Note : Once again, I write another chapter. I would really appreciate your feedback on this story/FanFiction! Thank you for your comments, I am truly sorry this has taken me forever!**

 **...**

 **~Chapter 8~**

"He's going to break that dog's mind," Bing mumbled, pawing through an old, thick book. "Those stupid mind exercises, he tried them on me once."

"What happened?" Carter asked, staring at the screens that showed a great many things - several of them showing different areas in Bolt's house. "Did he break your mind?"

"Practically," Bing replied, stopping on a page and skimming the words. "Afterward he said I should use it in my practice. I was like, no."

"But wouldn't it be fun?" Carter turned away from the screens, away from the dark, fuzzy image of Sypher and Bolt in the kitchen, and looked at Bing. "I mean, it's like Sypher is hypnotizing you! That sounds like so much fun!"

"Well then I guess you can be next in line for his hypnosis," Bing closed the book and left it on the small wood table, coming to sit near Carter at the screens. "I think Syph has too much time on his paws to come up with something like that."

"Agreed," Arrow said, walking into the room. Both dogs turned and looked at him, surprised that they hadn't even heard him come down the halls. "Carter, I need your assistance with something."

"Anything for you, Sir Arrow!" Carter dipped into a low, dramatic bow, stumbling forward a few steps. "How can I be of assistance?"

Arrow took a deep breath, figuring how he would explain it to Carter with him being able to understand it, to comprehend it. Carter was not normally the best with words. Or with anything really.

He let the breath out. "Carter, we have intercepted something from Volt's hideouts but Timber was unable to decode it before it somehow mysterious disappeared from all of our files."

"So . . . Timber was messing with it and it got lost?" Carter's tail stopped wagging and he instantly looked dead on serious. "Did you check under the computer?"

Bing groaned and rolled his eyes. "Oh my dog, Carter! You should understand better than anyone! He means a _file in the computer_."

The Dalmatian blinked once, twice, processing the information. "Oh. And you need my help somehow getting it back?"

"Yes," Arrow said, sighing.

"Okay, let's go!"

 **...**

Angel stared straight ahead, defiance clear as anything written all over her face. She was not - was _not_ \- going to give this dog the pleasure of her answering. She would not give away any secret plans, ideas, or missions, not to this dog or even Volt himself. All she would have to do is keep her muzzle shut, even though the dog that was questioning her was annoying as all get out.

"Has Arrow mentioned any of Bolt's powers to you, even hinted at it?" The dog, a gray, rather handsome dog her height, asked, pacing in front of her. He would have looked rather attractive if he wasn't _trying_ to catch her eye, to make her think something of him.

Angel remained silent, no change in expression, not even a slight movement or any awknowledgment that she heard him. Inside, though, she was happy that she had started ticking him off. Her not answering was starting to drive the dog crazy because Angel knew that Volt was expecting answers soon, and this dog wasn't getting any.

"I don't think she is budging, buddy,"

Ah, how could Angel have forgotten the dog's friend, a small, tan pugthat sat near the edge of the room, watching them. He was so quiet and had remained quite during the questioning, and she had nearly forgotten all about his existence.

"Well, obviously!" The dog growled, rolling his eyes and walking over to the pug. "Do you have any suggestions, oh mighty Gilbert?"

"No, but I don't think this is working," Gilbert got up and plodded over to the German Shepherd, staring her in the eyes. "What's is your name, mutt?"

Gilbert's companion sighed and turned around, irritated. "Volt said her name was Angel. Were you not listening?"

"I was, stupid, I just wanted to see if she could talk," Gilbert snapped, lowering his eyelids so that only orange slits showed. "I ain't got hearing problems."

"You might as well have hearing problems," said a voice, coming from the partly open door way. A gray dog with black streaks on his fur and cloudy colored eyes made his way toward them, smirking with signature flair and charm. "And I know from experience that if you let her, she will talk your head off."

"Rain," Angel muttered it under her breath as if it was a curse, something not to be spoken of kindly.

Rain's attention flickered to her, but only momentarily, before looking back at the short pug and the other mutt.

"What are you doing in here, Rain?" The dog next to Gilbert asked, grinning hesitantly. "We, uh, got it covered . . . with her."

"Volt told me to come relieve you of your duties," Rain said, all innocence and simplicity. "He said that since the dog knows me - or he hopes she still does - she might give more answers than she would for two random dogs."

"Oh, um, right," said Gilbert, glancing once at Angel. "Then we will let you, uh, work your magic and go report for guard post duty . . . thing. Yeah."

The other dog nodded his head. "We should be going then."

They hurried out the room, and it was just then that Angel could see the face Rain had been giving them. It was a calm, serene face, but behind his cloudy eyes there was a clear written message; _don't argue with me or you will seriously regret it_. That look changed in a matter of moments, changed into a sickeningly sweet smile, aimed solely for Angel.

"And we meet once again," Rain chuckled. "In the little while I was gone you've changed, Angel. Wow, is that distrust I see under your glare? Is that directed to me?"

Though Angel knew that he was just trying to get under her skin, it made her furious. He knew exactly what she was thinking, and it was obvious by the way he smiled and backed away a step, as if fearing her retaliation.

"You don't look too happy."

This time, Angel couldn't hold it in. She couldn't just sit there while he made these remarks. She let out a low growl. "Of course I am not happy! I was kidnapped against my will, on lookout, and only to find out that one of my best friends is a TRAITOR!"

Rain was unfazed. He had predicted something like this and was not surprised when he got the response he had been searching for. "Aw, come on, Angel. I am not a traitor."

"Really?" Angel raised her top lips, showing sharp teeth. "Then who's team were you on half a year ago or so? And now you're on the opposite side, helping one of the worst dogs in the world? You don't think that qualifies as being a traitor?"

"Well, now that you mention it . . ." Rain joked.

"You ruined our force, Rain. You didn't only weaken it by leaving and no longer being there if we needed protection, but you also weakened it by ruining Sypher's life, too."

"So you're saying I am a traitor for finding someone who could help me use my talents more often?"

"You think Sypher wasn't doing that?" It was obvious on Angel's face that she was getting worked up about it, upset and angry. Rain had seen her like this before, and Sypher had jokingly told him to take cover and wait until she had calmed down. Angel wasn't someone to cry from emotions, she was a dog to take action.

"He took every moment of his spare time to train you to become what you are today, to make you the best, strongest protector in the S.S.A.O.N.A," she barked. " _He_ was the one who took your hidden talents, talents you hadn't known you had, and brought them out. And then you left him and, unbeknownest to any of us, went and joined someone who is trying to murder all of us! Your friends, or at least we used to be."

"Obviously that has changed now, Angel," Rain said back. He was no longer smiling but he was not angered or upset. Merely calm in an irritating way, how he managed to keep his cool. "Sypher may have taught me, but I only ever used it against him, and it was never what I could really do. Here, Volt lets me do whatever I want, he doesn't tell me to wait for his command before attacking someone from outside or group. The best I can be is what he lets me be, Angel. You just don't understand."

"No, you don't understand, Rain!" Angel said, standing up. She knew that Rain knew that she would be no match against him if she tried anything, so he let her show her defiance. He looked rather amused by it. "Arrow has given you everything you need in your life - he gave you a home when you've needed it, a trainer who taught you everything, and people who care about you. You _are_ a traitor, Rain."

"You think?" Rain was completely composed and he gave her a small smile. "And why do you think he did that for me, huh?"

"Because you were just a pup and you had no place to go," Angel said, remembering what Rain himself had said years ago. "Because you were alone and because Sypher was kind enough to bring you to the Headquarters and ask Arrow that you stay."

Rain shook his head, his cloudy fur ruffling. "No. He did it because he needed someone to protect him, and later his son. He needed someone to make sure that he would always be safe. It was all for _his_ purposes. That is what I've learned, Angel, in these past months - both sides are greedy and want the best for their side so they don't have to worry about anything. You've got to choose whichever side looks best from the outside and go with your gut instinct."

"He didn't do it for greedy purposes!" Angel said, raising her tail so that it pointed up. "He did it later on to protect his son because Volt, the dog you're no working with, is trying to steal Bolt's powers and use them for his own evil reasons. If you think Arrow is being greedy, then Volt is pushing the limit."

"Go on and think that, puppy," Rain smirked and turned around. "Think whatever you'd like. But in the end, just wait and see who comes out on top, and who is going to be demolished."

"And it's not going to be who I work under," whispered Angel, just loud enough that he could hear her.

Rain turned back toward her with a smug look. "We will just see about that, precious. No is the time for me to be questioning you, like master Volt asked me to do. You can either be compliant or I can make you talk."

 **...**

Penny sat at her desk, brushing her red hair and looking into the mirror. She had decided to wear it down tonight, nothing special, nothing fancy. She was going in jeans and one of her favorite shirts, a light blue and white one.

As usual, her dog sat at her feet, though he was not alarmed or guarding her in any way. He might have been slightly panicked at the fact that Penny and her mother would be out for the night, for several hours without his protection, but he was trying his best not to show it.

"We have about thirty minutes until eight, Bolty," Penny put her brush on the top of the desk, then grabbed a single, sparkly hairclip. "We are supposed to be there at eight, before the movie starts. Mom is really, really excited to see this one and she says that she doesn't want to miss the first scene."

Bolt gave a small sound in reply, awknowledging that he heard her.

"We will be back before you know it, buddy."

"Penny!" Called a voice from downstairs, Penny's mother. "It's almost time to leave! You don't want to be late!"

"Coming!" Penny called back, jumping to her feet, making Bolt do the same. She smiled at her dog and turned around as if letting him inspect her outfit and her hair. "How do I look, Bolt?"

Wagging his tail on the floor, Bolt gave a joyful bark and spun in a circle as well, making the little girl laugh and lean down to wrap her arms around him. "You're a good boy." She kissed his furry head and leaned back to stare him in the eyes. "You're _my_ good boy."

Bolt licked her on her nose and she giggled, falling back. Sensing that he was making her laugh, Bolt continued to try to jump on her and lick her until she was rolling on the floor, trying to get away from him, laughing harder than before.

"My, my," Penny's mother said, standing in the doorway and smiling down at them. "I'd say it is a tough choice to either go to the movie or to watch you two."

They stopped and looked back up at her, Penny's hairclip having fallen from her hair and onto the ground but her hair remaining perfectly brushed.

"Aw, come on, Mom!" Penny pushed herself onto her knees and rubbed Bolt's head. "You know this movie will be worth it. It's the final installment to the movie series!"

"I know, dear," said Penny's mother, helping her daughter up and giving Bolt a pat. "Then let's get going - it starts in a matter of minutes."

"Yes, ma'am!" Penny jumped up and dusted herself off, and then they made their way out of the room and down the stairs.

Little did any of them know that a dog watched the outside of their little house from under a bush, waiting for the moment to give the signal to his companions the moment the humans left the house.


	9. Blackout

**Author's Note : I feel this story is progressing rather quickly, the plot seems to be moving forward faster than I intended. The conversation in the previous chapter by Rain and Angel was was at all planned, but I liked the way it turned out. I am hoping to see more writing that I actually like how it turns out and to write it, so let's begin!**

 **...**

 **~Chapter 9~**

Sypher hurried through the open hallway, walking briskly and turning his head every few moments to the talking dog at his side. He was trying to listen, formulate an answer, and then move onto whatever awaited him next so he would have enough time to talk privately to Arrow.

"And we have been having some technical issues, since Carter is nowhere to be found-"

"That is because he is helping Antrila fix the new tazer magnets on sublevel B," Sypher said, dodging to avoid a few dogs walking to their duties. "And I couldn't get Timber or Carlos to help with that because their on guard duty tonight."

"I see," said the dog at Sypher's side, Skip. "Well, then I will find someone who can fix it before ten o'clock tonight."

"What time is it now?" Sypher took a left turn down another hallway, Skip following closely behind. "I haven't had time to look yet and I am pressed for time."

"It should be close to eight," Skip said, glancing down at his paw-cam, noticing Sypher did not wear one. "Where is your paw-cam?"

"Took it off," he replied briefly, slowing down and glancing inside a room where five dogs stood a large control panals and three hanging computer screens. "Supposed to be going over to Bolt's house after his humans leave."

"Oh." Skip shrugged. "Okay, Syph, I believe that is all. I'll catch up to you later."

"Okay, thanks, Skip," Sypher didn't glance back but turned another corner and was met with a winding staircase.

One could either go up or go down, those were the two options - he was on level 2, needed to be on 3 so he could find Arrow, who, at this time of night, would more than likely be in the main control room.

He went up, but not before another dog joined his side, panting like he had been running all night.

"Sypher, honestly, you need to slow down so I can catch up to you," said the dog, taking a deep breath and pursuing him up the tall stairs. "I've been needing to ask you about your plans for tomorrow night, because Arrow went Zoral and Chaice on duty on Elms street but Chaice wont be able to work then."

"Did you see if Gates could take his shift?" Sypher reached the landing two seconds before the other dog did. "As far as I know, he is off tomorrow."

"No, not yet. I forgot about him. Thanks, Syph."

The other dog turned to leave, but before he could make a step away, the lights attached to the ceiling that casted a yellowish color onto the old wood dimmed suddenly. In a blink it was completely dark inside, and the two dogs were nowhere near a window that could provide the little moonlight that could show.

"Sypher?" The other dog said in a quiet tone, not too loud but not all that quiet either. His eyes had not adjusted to the complete darkness, nor had the Cattle Dog's.

"Something is going on," Sypher carefully turned around and cautiously took a step forward, cursing under his breath when he nearly fell down the staircase. "I don't see any lights coming from the next story, nor any emergency lights. Something isn't right."

"Start with the fact that the backup lights aren't turning on about now," said the other dog, bumping Sypher slightly as he came closer. "It's so dark I can't even see . . . well, anything."

Sypher's heart started to pound, harder than it had been, when his brain processed the situation. If the lights went off, that didn't mean that everything had gone off. But if the emergency system had to be turned on for the lights, it instantly did the computers and cameras as well. And if the emergency system wasn't going on after the lights had gone off . . . that left the possibility that the cameras were down as well. And that meant that there was no way to protect Bolt if anything came near him, since no dogs were yet on watch . . .

With this thought, Sypher raced down the stairs in the dark, jumping them by two, even though his vision was limited to an inch in front of himself. He dimly heard the other dog call his name but his mind was spinning too fast for him to register what had been said.

Out of everything that was racing through his mind, he had the simplest of steps planned out - _one, head to the camera room and see if they were off. Two, if they were off, head to Bolt's house and make sure he is safe. Three, stop Volt from whatever he is planning now._

Somehow, though Sypher was not sure how he knew, he felt as though this was something that had something to do with Volt.

In half a minute, Sypher was at his destination, slowing down just enough so that he did not skid into the camera control room. He was breathing heavily, but paid no attention to it. In the little time that the lights had gone off, a few battery-operated lights had been activated on the lower levels so that he could see the hall and the room he was next to. He entered the room and instantly knew that the cameras were down - Maria was sitting with a group of dogs, all of them trying to talk over the other with ideas to get the black screened computers to turn on again.

The screens, normally turned on during every second of every day and powered by a vast amount of electricity and solar power, were off and blackened, not even the S.S.A.O.N.A symbol was in the center of the screen.

Maria pushed her way to one of the main computers and started pressing buttons with her paws, glancing up every time to see if they would trigger a response from the dead computer. With every button pressed, she looked more and more doubtful and silence began to form around her.

"Maybe it was a connection problem?" A dog suggested from the back of the group, turning around and touching another computer on the opposite wall.

"A connection problem that both the electric lights and the cameras and computers shut off at the exact same moment?" Sypher said, turning their attention to him. "I don't think so. Maria, where is Arrow?"

"Right here," A voice from behind the Cattle Dog said. Sypher turned around to see a German Shepherd step into the room and quickly survey the blank screens. "Sypher, do you know what is going on?"

"I don't, but I don't think it has anything to do with connectivity problems," Sypher said, hoping Arrow understood what he was saying. He did.

"Go and make sure Bolt's neighborhood is safe. Take a few dogs with you and -"

Sypher interrupted him with an apologetic look. "Arrow, you know it will take longer if I find some dogs to come with me. I hate to go alone, because I know the dangers of what could happen, but the fact that it would take longer to gather up a group to come . . ."

Arrow sighed but stepped away from the door, allowing a clear exit. "I understand. I will send some dogs to follow you as soon as we're stable here, but you _have_ to be careful."

Sypher nodded his head in reply, already taking in more air so that he could run nonstop to Bolt's house and make sure that he was safe and secure and that Volt was nowhere near him.

"If it turns out to be nothing, I'll be back soon," Sypher then took off out of the room and up the staircase again, down a long hall and into the night that was seemingly darker than the entire S.S.A.O.N.A building.

 **...**

"No, how could you?" Rhino yelled from the couch, his mouth hanging open in disbelief as he stared at the TV. "No. How _could_ she? She . . . she murdered her own _husband_!"

"He deserved it, after cheating on his wife as many times as he did," grumbled Mittens from her perch on the top of the couch. "And to think that she tried to rekindle their love, even after she knew about all of the things he was doing."

"But then she had to go and kill him off!" Rhino was practically in tears, but his eyes were unwavering from the television screen.

"Rhino, it's a TV show, for crying out loud!" Mittens stood up and streteched, then laid back down in a more comfortable position.

"I know, but it just captures the emotion and . . . it just seems so _real_!"

"But it isn't."

"But it seems real to me."

"That is to you, you little rodent."

"Well, if you don't like this show or those who watch it, don't sit here then!" Rhino said, giving her a glare for a full two seconds before turning around again. "I didn't ask for your opinion."

"Nobody is asking for mine," Bolt laughed and lifted his head off the edge of the couch. He had been laying on the opposite end of Rhino, hardly even watching the show that had been turned on by the hamster. "But, if I had a choice, I think she should have married Brett in Season 2 instead of getting unhappy and killing her husband in Season 6."

Mittens considered this for a moment before shrugging and looking down at him. "Or she could have just remained single."

"But she couldn't have married Brett!" Rhino protested, rolling over to Bolt's side of the couch. "Brett only had room in his wild heart for Linda!"

This was not far from their normal conversation whenever the humans were out of the house and Rhino had once again turned on some reality TV show that he insisted they watch together. He was quite involved in the series he could find, be it dark horror, romance, or anything of the sort. Bolt, not so much, but could tolerate his little friend's obsession. Mittens, on the exact opposite, did mind most of the time and preferred to make remarks on certain characters or events that happened in an episode.

While Mittens and Rhino went at it again, taking advantage of the commercial break to have a heated argument, Bolt's mind wandered.

For the past few days, Bolt had found himself thinking about the event that changed his life to what it was now. His thoughts were deep, many questions that never seemed to find answers would find their way to his mind.

The fire had been a frightful thing, every reminder made him cringe with the thought of having failed to get inside the building and rescue his beloved Penny. But he wasn't entirely certain it was a bad thing, either. It had given him the normal life of a regular house-pet, a dog who's job was simply to protect his human from normal, every day dangers and not bad guys working for an evil man.

But he felt there was more to it than he was seeing, there was more to the flames and the fear than what he had thought happened. He had been told that a dog, the one who had been used in his place for the series, had slipped on the set and accidently hit one of the tiki torches, setting the set on fire instantly. He knew that the dog lived because he remembered passing by a group of people, one of them holding the dog and running for safety, away from the building. But after that he hadn't heard anything more of that dog, nothing else was ever said about where he went or who had taken him in.

Whoever the dog had been, Bolt hoped he was safe and at home with a loving family and a life as wonderful as his was now.


	10. Invisible Line

**Author's Note : Thank you, people, for reviewing! It helps to hear people's critiques, which are very important to me. And as we move on to another chapter, I hope you find this one as enjoyable. Hehe.**

 **...**

 **~Chapter 10~**

Sypher, across the street from Bolt's house, looked up and down the calm road. There was no sign of anyone.

The only light came from the few street lights and covered lightbulbs attached to some of the houses. Shadows reigned, the glow unable to dispel them, a great hiding place for any of Volt's agents.

Narrowing his eyes, he started across the street, stopping when he heard someone clear their throat behind him. Sypher's heart skipped for a moment, a thousand thoughts and possibilities of who might be there.

He turned around slowly, taking in a deep breath and preparing for anything that could happen, be it the best of the worst.

There was a dog, standing in the shadows behind him, hidden but for a gray colored muzzle and the tips of his paws. He was nearly Sypher's height, about as tall as Volt was, btu Sypher could see nothing else.

Neither made a move or said anything.

"Well, well, well," The dog chuckled, his voice faintly familiar. "Is this my luck or what?"

Before the dog even stepped out from the shadows, Sypher's eyes had already widened. He gasped in surprise at who was standing not but a few feet away from him, smiling as if he was amused by Sypher's reaction.

"Surprised?" Rain shrugged, now almost fully visible by taking a step forward. "Honestly, Sypher, what are you doing out at this time of night? Taking an evening stroll?"

Rain patiently waited as Sypher, still in surprise and shock, registered what he had said. In a matter of moments, Sypher quickly deduced that Rain had not changed much in the past months that they had been apart, in appearance, mainly. He still had his distinct, stormy colored pelt with eyes that looked as though they reflected storm clouds. The only change was that the ever-constant paw-cam that used to be on one of his front paws was gone, replaced with a small black computer box with a **V** on the top.

"Rain," Sypher turned his head to the side, staring at the other dog with a dread. "What - what are you doing out here? You . . ."

Rain looked up to the night sky as if to ponder his question, as if he had to give it some thought in order to answer. "Well, the thing is, Syph, I kind of have a job to do. And while you know I would love to sit and catch up and maybe even go a few rounds with you, I have to get going."

Sypher glanced down again at the new, different device on Rain's paw. It might have looked new on his paw, but it was something that Sypher had seen numerous times in his life. V for Volt. And on the band that was holding it on his leg, Sypher knew that it had the initials V.A.D.D. Volt's Allegiance of Dark Dogs.

"Rain." Sypher started, looking around behind him so that he was sure the street was empty. "Rain, you -? You _work_ for _Volt_?"

"Exactly," Rain looked around with a wide smile. "Give the dog a prize!"

Sypher stared at him, narrowing his eyes. After more than half a year, after that long of missing and thinking of him every single day, they met again, but in the worst way imaginable.

Because Rain was obviously on his way to do something bad to Bolt, to do something that Volt had ordered him to. And Sypher had been on his way to protect Bolt from any of Volt's minions, even if it meant a fight. He had raced to the neighborhood with that in mind, but now, as he stood face to face with his once-friend, he wasn't sure he would be able to do that.

"Well, it was great seeing you again, old pal," Rain stepped to the side, going to walk around the other dog. "Maybe our paths will cross again soon. But as for now, I must complete my mission."

Sypher, in one smooth motion, moved and blocked his way to Bolt's house again. He might not be able to hurt Rain, but he was not going to let him get across the street.

Rain's smile faltered for half a second as he stared into Sypher's eyes, but when it returned, Sypher could see that the other dog was ready for a challenge. The way Rain always had been, whenever they came across something unnormal.

"Let me guess, Syph," said Rain, glancing past him. "You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?"

"And let you complete your mission, which I am sure has something to do with Bolt?"

Rain nodded. "Quite right. But if you're not . . ."

Sypher growled low, returning Rain's challenging look. "I'm not letting you. I don't know what has changed you in these past six months, but you are not going through with Volt's plans."

"As if you know them," The smile vanished from Rain's face, leaving behind something between a scowl and a snarl. "I bet you didn't even expect Master Volt to go to such lengths, especially as far as knocking out the entire S.S.A.O.N.A system."

This didn't surprise the Cattle Dog, who had already known as much as soon as it had happened, whether he had been able to place the feeling or not at the time. Now he knew, there was actual proof from one of Volt's own agents - he couldn't see this dog as Rain, not the Rain he had known - that is was one of the dark dog's projects.

Narrowing his eyes, Rain leaned forward and said, "Move."

"I'm not moving."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Bring it."

 **...**

Bolt had started to drift off to sleep, after Rhino had found a romantic drama that he was growing quite attached to. Not that it was late, but Bolt found himself pulled into sleep as soon as he had closed his eyes.

He wasn't sure what made his eyes come open in a hurry, several minutes later, but he felt that something was not right. Something around him, not in the house, but near.

He lifted his head to see Rhino staring at the TV, transfixed, and then Mittens on the top of the couch, grooming her fur. He felt his heartbeat start to go faster, harder than normal.

Bolt stood up, but it didn't feel like he was controlling his body. It was like an outward force was, an instinct, a _feeling_. He couldn't ignore it, and he wasn't going to.

"Bolt, you going somewhere?" Mittens asked, staring down at him. "Or just, you know, stretching your legs and trying to get interested in this horribly done television show?"

Bolt smiled and shrugged, not sure what to say, not even sure what he was going to do about this feeling that was telling him to follow an invisible line to some unknown ending. Maybe it was just a random feeling, but he couldn't help being curious as to what _was_ at the end of the line.

"Mittens," He started, jumping off the couch. "I'm going to go for a little walk outside, in the yard or something."

"Outside?" Mittens looked out the window behind her at the darkness, the shadows outside. "At this hour?"

"I just need some fresh air."

She considered for a couple of seconds before nodding her head. "Fine, but don't go out of the yard. You hear me, dog? Not out of the yard."

"Yes, ma'am," Bolt grinned and walked out of the room, heading outside.

The moment has was outside, he went to the gate and unlocked the easy latch, making sure once more that Mittens was not watching him from anywhere. Stepping out onto the sidewalk, Bolt instantly saw two dogs across the street, nearly in the shadows. The one facing him, a darker colored dog with a snarl on his face, was unfamiliar, but the other dog looked a lot like . . .

Bolt looked both ways before crossing the street, not wanting to happen what had happened with Sypher and him. Trotting up to the two dogs, his suspiscion on who the dog turned away from him was confirmed. Sypher was glaring at the other dog.

Almost at the same time did the two dogs realize Bolt was coming up to them, and both were equally surprised, staring at Bolt as he walked forward. But then Sypher's expression changed to a mix between challenging and annoyed. Annoyed, for a reason he couldn't guess, at Bolt.

"Sypher?" Bolt asked, turning between the two as he came to a stop. "What are you doing out here?"

A moment before Sypher returned his look from the gray dog back to Bolt. His voice was unusually sharp. "I was just walking around and I saw my _friend,_ and we were just having a conversation."

Bolt glanced at the unknown dog.

"Ah, you must be Bolt," The dog said, a sickeningly fake smile starting on his face. "What a pleasant surprise, Sypher has told me so much about you."

Now confused, Bolt looked questioningly at Sypher.

"Bolt, this is Rain," Sypher said, staring at the unknown dog only. "An _aquaintance_ of mine."

Slowly, the white dog nodded his head, understanding. "Hi, Rain. I'm Bolt. Well, as you already know."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Bolt," Rain said, but something about the way he spoke made Bolt start to feel uncomfortable at this meeting. He tried not to show it, but when he saw Rain sneak a delighted glance at the Sypher, and Sypher give him a small snarl, he knew something wasn't right.

"Bolt, what are you doing out here? I thought that you'd be inside while your owners are gone," He was trying to sound normal, but Bolt could detect something else. "I didn't think Mittens would let you oout of the house without her supervision."

Bolt grinned. "She's getting better at letting me go where I want to go, when I want to go, without having to constantly watch over me." The small look disappeared when he saw the two dogs glance again at each other. "So, yeah . . . I had better go back in before Mittens finds out that I am no longer in the yard."

He was glad when a look of slight relief came over Sypher's face, even if it was small. Rain's, however, did not look pleased or delighted anymore, but rather something Bolt couldn't place. He wasn't sure what to think, but he knew that the invisible line that had pulled him from the house had ended at the two dogs.

He didn't want to leave them, sensing something below the surface that wasn't very pleasant, but he also did not want to stay and make Sypher any more annoyed than he was.

 _Should I go, should I stay? What is going on? Who is Rain, and why does Sypher seem so ... tense? What's going on?_

 **...**

Volt was watching the three dogs from a screen, a good distance away from Bolt's house, snarling as he waited for Rain to make his move. He knew that the gray dog was stronger than most, very possibly stronger than even Sypher. And at this point, he was stronger than Bolt, who did not even know what was going on.

He wanted to hurry things up, to get Rain to get rid of that irritating Sypher and kidnap Bolt, so that his plan to could be one step closer to complete. Even watching his younger brother during times like this made Volt's blood broil and simmer, the edge of explosion. He wanted to go directly to Bolt, not having agents do it, and activate his plan immediately.

And then the disasters would begin and all chaos would ensue.


	11. Security Breach

**Author's Note : Sorry for the delay. I promise you, I am trying to write this more often. :/**

 **...**

 **~Chapter 11~**

Arrow's mind was whirling with information that was trying to process faster than it could. Surrounding S.S.A.O.N.A Pack buildings - groups of members that were stationed all around California and the United States - near Headquarters has been attacked by Volt's agents. Three buildings with no less than seventy dogs at each one, not but a few miles away from HQ, were struggling to rid themselves of the intruders. Not only were these dark agents attacking, they were also capturing S.S.A.O.N.A members, harming them whenever they found necessary.

Arrow couldn't do anything to help them right now, all that he _could_ do was hope that Volt didn't plan to attack Headquarters. In the short time since the whole electricity went off and Sypher had left, everything had fallen apart and was continuing to crumble. And that was only twenty minutes ago.

He shut his eyes and tried to concentrate. The only way of communicating was through paw-cams, which ran off of the city's power sources, though even using those there was a sketchy connection. And Sypher, who he needed at the S.S.A.O.N.A right now, would not answer his paw-cam.

At least one of the Pack building leaders had been able to reach a connection to Arrow, had told them of the other attacks and that they needed reinforcements. He had said that Volt's agents had injured five dogs already and that they were relentless. The computers were down there as well, and they only knew of the other attacks by messenger dogs. The established link had cut off right them, whether it was done by the paw-cam or something else even worse.

Opening his eyes, he turned to Maria, who was sitting and looking concerned. Concerned, but ready to do something. He felt the exact way.

"Arrow, should I get Raider to take a group out there?" She had a waver to her voice, but cleared it and continued. "We can distribute three seperate groups to either building to help them."

"The only thing I am afraid of is Volt coming to attack here," Arrow sighed. "Without Sypher here, we really have no one else able to take on Volt's dark dogs, except for Raider and his small group. And we obviously don't have Rain . . ."

"Or Angel."

Suddenly there were loud thumps running down the hallway. They turned their heads to see Carter, the Dalmatian, running toward them at full speed, barely able to slow before coming to an abrupt stop at their paws.

"Aaaaaarrrrrooooooowwwwww!" Carter screamed, breathing hard and standing up. "Security breach, security breach!"

"What?" Maria said before Arrow could. " _Security breach_?"

"Yes!" Carter swung his head back to look behind him, as if worried someone might have followed him up to the top level of the large building. For once, he was not smiling and all the joke that was normally there was gone. "He's here!"

 **...**

Screens flickered from one picture to another, with five seconds in between each changing. They were live cameras, but the pictures were blurry and at times it cut off completely.

Angel watched in horror from her cage across the room as Volt's dogs fought against agents of the society, vicious and non-stop. They didn't care who they hurt, so long as it took down more of the good team.

The dog at the screen was obviously growing bored of watching the chaos; Angel, though his back was turned to her, could hear him yawn and mumble under his breath. A minute later he typed some commands into the computer and the live videos changed to a very blurry yet familiar street.

Squinting hard, Angel could pick out three dogs standing across from Bolt's house, lit only by the few streetlights that were casting low, yellowish light. There was no sound to the video, only a picture that was grainy and moved slow to match the three dogs movements. She couldn't seem to recognize who the dogs were.

Behind her there was a gasp of surprise. She whipped her head around, forgetting that in the cage she was with Kemp and Poppy as well, being held captive as forced to watch as Volt attacked S.S.A.O.N.A buildings.

Turning back to the screen, Angel was barely able to see one of the dog's as they shifted in their place, the light hitting at the perfect angle. It was undoubtedly Sypher, and he did not look pleased. Standing across from him, she could now make out Rain - the dog that had betrayed them - who was looking pleased as he glanced at the third and final dog. It took her another second to figure out who the third dog was, but when she recognized him she gave a near silent gasp.

Because seeing Sypher, who's job was to protect any and all of the S.S.A.O.N.A members and Bolt himself, Rain, who was now just as evil as the devious Volt, and _Bolt_ , who knew nothing about what was going on, she knew something was wrong.

"Angel," Poppy whispered into her ear. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Kemp nodded his agreement, looking unsettled. He set his eyes on the screen again, and they all quietly watched the three dogs.

The dog at the screen, sensing their sudden new interest in the live recording, turned and smirked at them. "Volt has had this planned out for quite a long while now."

Angel snarled at the brown pelted dog, but she didn't take her eyes off the computer. She did not want to miss any important detail, though she had no clue of what use would it be. She was locked up with two other society members, and they couldn't do anything about it.

On the screen, the white dog mouthed something that Angel couldn't understand, for there was no audio, and Sypher nodded, the movement tense and jerky, mostly because of the recording.

Several seconds later, Rain turned and left without a glance back, walking out of sight of the camera with a smile that was not hidden. And then Sypher nodded to Bolt's house, and to Bolt, more than likely telling him to go home.

It was maddening that Angel could not _hear_ the actual conversation, nor could she be right there to help them. If she had been at Headquarters right then, Arrow probably would have sent her out to deliver messages to the attacked Pack groups, and to those surrounding so they knew what was happening.

When she drew her attention back on the screen, moments later, she no longer saw Bolt and Sypher was across the street, staring at the short fence. As he turned to walk away, something leapt on him from the shadows.

Angel gasped and the screen instantly changed to a view inside of another Pack building, one that was now being raided by Volt's agents. She wished the screen hadn't changed, to go back and see if the Cattle Dog would be okay, because she knew that he had no way of contacting HQ; his paw-cam was not attached to his front paw.

 **...**

"Well, though this talk has been quite pleasant," Rain said after a moment of silence between the three dogs. "I must be heading back home now."

"Yes, you probably should," Sypher said, barely hiding the a snarl. Rain only looked amused.

Bolt watched as Rain left them, noting a smile that made the fur on his back prickle. He shook off the feeling, glad that the mysterious and strange dog was gone.

"Syph," Bolt looked at him questioningly. "Who was that?"

Sypher grunted and started walking across the street, towards Bolt's house, with Bolt following. "Just some dog I know."

"I see that," Bolt matched his pace with the other dog's. "But why would you tell him about me, if you two don't seem to be the best of friends?"

"It's complicated."

A moment of silence. Then, "Sure it is."

Sypher turned to Bolt, now that they were right outside his yard. "Bolt, it is more complex and complicated than you can imagine. Rain has his way of . . . finding things out. But he's just another dog. You don't need to question me on any of these things."

"Because you won't answer my questions?" Bolt smirked, glancing up at the sky that was covered in clouds, the moon that was barely visible by now. "Oh well, Syph. If you say so."

"You'd better get inside before Mittens starts to wonder," said Sypher, nodding at the opened gate. "We wouldn't want you to get in trouble with her just for coming out and enjoying the night air."

The white dog laughed, nodding his head. "Alright, thanks, Syph." He turned and walked in, but stopped short. "And good night, since it does seem to be one of those nights."

"Indeed. Goodnight, Bolt."

He waited until he heard Bolt go in through the doggy door, safe and sound back inside, and turned to leave. As soon as he did, however, something flew into him and started attacking him. He was caught by surprise, but his fighting instincts kicked in and he was pushing against the other dog.

The dog, who seemed faceless and a blur to Sypher's eyes, was relentless with his attacks, going for anything he could get. Sypher had a strategy, but it wasn't working when he was the one on the ground.

Sypher bit the dog's leg and pulled, making the dog stumble, giving Sypher enough time to push him off. The dog landed on his side, but was up in an instant, growling and showing long, pointed fangs.

Without even a hesitant moment, the dog lunged again. Sypher was prepared and ducked, but he didn't notice the short dip from the concrete sidewalk to the floor, and he stumbled, but recovered fast. The dog was getting ready to leap again, and Sypher quickly formed out a strategy in his mind, praying that it all worked out.

Sypher jumped for the dog when it leapt at him, both of them hitting each other and the ground. Sypher sensed this as the perfect oppurtunity and grabbed the dog by it's neck, hurling it across the empty road. It didn't seem to bother the dog, for he was up in a blink, charging again to renew his attack. Sypher jumped onto the dog, holding him down despite the way the dog twisted and turned. The dog stopped for a moment, and as Sypher took a quick half-second to blink the sweat from his eyes the dog somehow contorted his body and moved in a way that sent Sypher to the ground. Now the dog was on him, and he was stuck on the ground again, Sypher had a moment to look up into the dog's eyes.

Those same eyes that looked as though they were storm clouds themselves stared down at him, a pleased grin across the dog's muzzle. They were both out of breath from the brawl, but Rain didn't miss a chance to give a low chuckle.

He should have expected Rain to do this, since he was about the only one who could come close to matching Sypher's unnormal strength. And there was a reason that Rain came so close to that - because Sypher had trained him his entire life.

"Honestly, Syph," Rain whispered, only just loud enough. "Volt has changed me in more ways than you could ever do, more than you ever would."

"I didn't let you become one of those dog's who could hurt another dog and be fine with it," Sypher replied, twisting his neck so he could glare at Rain. "Volt's dogs don't care if they murder someone, all they care about is destruction, killing, and getting Volt's praise."

"We're dogs, Syph," Rain cocked his head to the side. "Our instincts tell us to attack, to kill, who is going to be the most help? Someone who demands us not do what we want, or someone who lets us become what we want to?"

This time, it was Sypher who grinned, looking up at the other dog. "Seriosuly, Rain? You're asking me that question. Because I think I know the answer, and it isn't what you think of Volt as." With a push of his back legs, Sypher sent Rain flying off of him, and he got up, ready to challenge someone who would not hesitate to kill.


	12. A Plan of Defeat

**Author's Note : Again, thank you for reviewing! Reviews are what power me to continue typing, and thanks is the only way I can get across my feeling to the reviewers. So thank you very much!**

 **...**

 **~Chapter 12~**

"Who is _he_?" Maria could already give a good guess, but she didn't know exactly. "Volt?"

"No, Bing!" Carter glanced behind again, but still the serious and frightened look didn't fade. "He is mad because I told him . . . I told him -"

"You mean BING is the security breach?!" Arrow yelled at the dog, making him wince at the loudness. "You came here to tell me that BING was a security breach?"

Carter paused, turning his head to the side in confusion. "Well, yes, what did you think I'd come here to say? That Volt is here?"

"Yes!"

"No, no, not at all."

Maria let out a deep breath, relieved, but upset at Carter for making them so worried. Neither she nor Arrow needed anything more to think about, especially not about Bing.

"Arrow!" Someone called from down the hallway. The three dogs turned and saw a mixed breed with an angry expression coming toward them. Bing did not look happy, and Carter was frightened at this.

"Arrow, I demand to know," Bing came up to them, not even winded after the climb of several levels, the fast walk down the long hall. "I demand to know why I am not over there helping out!"

Arrow, his heart still pounding from Carter's announcement, took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Bing, I'm not following you."

"He is wanting to -" Carter began, but was quickly cut off by Bing.

"I wanted to go to at least one of the those three Pack buildings that were attacked and help out," He scrunched up his face, glaring at the spotted dog. "And Carter said that I would be useless over there, even though he knows that I could help out by taking care of any injured dogs!"

Carter wagged his tail, a bright look forming on his face. "And, I also told him that he was useless here, that he has never done anything helpful for the S.S.A.O.N.A."

Maria groaned and Arrow shook his head. In the middle of everything that was going on - the electricity going out, the attacks - Bing and Carter were still fighting.

"Bing, I completely disagree with Carter," Arrow started, giving Carter a sharp look. "But as much as we all want to go and help those society buildings, we can't. There is still a chance that Volt's dogs will attack here and if they do and we're out helping, we're doomed. And if you went with a few dogs to go help, who would we have if we had injured members?"

"That is why I told you we needed more medical assistant dogs and protectors, Arrow," Maria said, not harsh but rather gentle and calm. She had a way of keeping her cool better than most. "But seeing as how we can't change that now . . . Bing, we really need you here. You never know what is going to happen, and we _have_ to be prepared. We have everything here, and if Volt gets his paws on it . . ."

Bing's expression went to unreadable, then changed to defeated. He sighed. "Alright, I know, I know. It's just . . . there is nothing worse for me than being helpless when I can help _somewhere_."

"I understand," Arrow understood more than he wished he did. He felt the same way at that moment; helpless, hopeless, and unsure what to do next. It was a horrible feeling, one that left him feeling mixed up, confused, and worried. Worried because he did not know what Volt was planning next.

Another set of paws was heard on the floor, racing toward them. The four of them saw a black lab hurrying toward them, his eyes wide and urgent.

He came to a perfect stop a few feet in front of them. "Arrow, Maria, Carter, Bing," He greeted, nodding his head at each of them in turn. "Ok, there is some disturbing news, an update on Sypher's mission."

They waited, but he didn't continue.

"And?" The leader tried not to get annoyed or irritated, but it was hard not to. "Is Sypher okay?"

"Well, I don't really know," the dog cast his eyes around the room, then let his gaze fall to the floor. "Two others dogs and I were sent after Sypher, who had gone ahead to protect Bolt if needed. Well, when we got there, at least ten minutes later, possibly more, we saw that Sypher was being lead away by two to three other dogs and . . . well, they were Volt's."

Shocked was hardly the word to describe on how the four dogs were. Sypher, the dog who was stronger than any other that they had known, who never simply just _gave up_ on a fight, and would do anything to protect the S.S.A.O.N.A, getting kidnapped by Volt.

"What - how?" Maria's voice cracked. "Sypher?"

"I don't know, ma'am," the dog hung his head. "We couldn't do anything, we weren't sure what to do. I don't know what happened, but that isn't like Sypher to lose a fight, or to just let himself be taken. We didn't get there in time."

"No!" Carter fell to the floor, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Not Sypher! He was the only thing left that can protect us! No!"

Bing rolled his eyes. "Kibble head, you've got me. I'm the best protection you're ever going to find. Who needs Syph?"

The room was quiet for a moment, the dogs looking between the others. Bing rolled his eyes again, this time directing it to everyone. "Okay, okay, I'm just playing."

"What should we do, sir?" The black lab asked. "I sent someone to follow them, that is why I only returned with one other agent. The other dog following Sypher and Volt's agents is going to paw-cam immediately when they reach their destination." He waited a few seconds. "What should we do?"

Arrow shook his head. "I don't know. I really don't know."

 **...**

"You're going to be taken with Angel, and her two friends," Rain said as the two dogs walked in a circle and snarled at each other. "And, if all succeeds -"

"If all succeeds you will be wishing you never left," Sypher said, yet another plan forming in his mind. He was torn between two plans, and he was trying to buy time. He needed more time. But Rain was not making this easy on him. "And if you hadn't left this could have all been avoided."

"Yeah, well, too late to think about that now." Rain lunged at him the second he made his decision - to go with the idea that looked a little too much like a guess rather than a plan.

He didn't make it seem like he was giving up so easily - Rain knew him well enough to know that Sypher would never do something like that. But he fought against the dog less and less, letting Rain take over and become triumphant.

It was all an act for Sypher, who wanted no more than to beat the other dog, but he knew that for the sake of his friends and their lives that he had to follow his plan. And hoped that it went smoothly.

"Well, Syph," Rain was slightly out of breath and there was a hint of suspicion, but that was expected. "I didn't think it would be this easy to beat you."

Sypher remained silent, staring at the asphalt on the road, only thinking about the next step in the plan.

"Are you going to come with us peacefully, or will we have to use force?" Rain smirked as if it was a joke.

"Who is 'we'?"

Rain looked up and barked once. Not too loud to draw attention from any of the residents living in the houses on the street, or for Bolt or his friends to hear. Just loud enough to call two large, mean looking dogs out from the looming shadows. Each of them were wearing ID bands, their own little communication system to Volt, which reminded Sypher that he was not wearing his paw-cam. So much for the idea of contacting Arrow.

Though he did not favor having to pretend to be defeated, especially by one of his previous peers who he had trained, he did so and went calmly, only thinking about the next step in the plan.

 **...**

Bolt sat in front of the door, not moving, his eyes set. When he heard the car door close his tail started thumping up and down on the floor, making a sound that was similar to a drum. It was a little past nine and he had been sitting there for five minutes, waiting for Penny and her mother to get back home.

Mittens was watching him from her perch on the kitchen counter, grinning as he got more and more excited when he heard them walk up to the door and start to unlock it. When the door opened at last, Bolt started going crazy by jumping up and barking and spinning around the two people's legs as they walked inside.

"Welcome home, welcome home, missed you, welcome home!" Bolt barked to them, bounding up to Penny and wagging his tail furiously. "So glad you're back, I never thought you would get back! Welcome home!"

"Bolt, you can shut up now," Mittens purred as Penny's mother petted her. "They know they're welcome. Everyone in the neighborhood now knows that they're welcomed."

"Hey, Bolty, I can see that you missed me!" Penny fell to her knees and gave him a hug, rubbing his furry head. "I missed you, too, bud!"

"Where's Rhino?" Penny's mom, Megan, looked around. "I don't see him."

"In the living room," Mittens mumbled. "He probably was so caught up in the TV that he didn't even hear them come home."

Bolt turned his head toward her. "They aren't loud when they come home, all the have to do is unlock the door and open the door. He might not hear that."

"No, you were the noise, dog," Mittens got and and jumped off the kitchen counter, strolling over next to Bolt so Penny could pet her as well. "Loud enough to wake the dead."

"The dead has been awakened," said a deep voice behind them. It was Rhino, who was smiling and dancing around in his ball. "I am here, no need to question my existence."

"We weren't," said Mittens drily.

"You three sure are active tonight," Megan said, entering the room again and finally spotting Rhino. "I wonder what you have been doing while we were away."

Mittens glanced at Rhino.

"No worries, Mittens, I turned off the television and put the remote back into its rightful spot. They will never know the difference," Rhino struck a celebrity pose but Mittens just rolled her eyes.

Penny laughed when Bolt jumped up to lick her face. They had hardly been gone an hour and the three animals were making it seen as though they were never coming back. The red-haired girl kissed Bolt and got up, smiling down at her pets.

"You three are just so adorable," She said as she pulled out her camera and snapped an instant picture of them, looking up at her with joyful eyes. "I wouldn't trade y'all for the world."

Bolt barked again, to convey his happiness and excitement, then got up and started running around in circles again, spinning and spinning. Rhino attempted to join in, which resulted in Bolt tripping over his plastic ball and crashing to the floor, laughing and smiling at the little rodent.

For Bolt's household it was a lovely night. At the S.S.A.O.N.A, not so much.


	13. Acting for Escaping

**Author's Note : I am literally just writing this story as it comes to mind. Some things might seem a bit out of shape or a little different from what earlier chapters say, but bear with me on this. ;)**

 **...**

 **~Chapter 13~**

Volt, having watched Rain and Sypher and known that they were on their way back to the building, was silently waiting alone in a room. He heard the familiar sounds of another dog entering the room, the sound of someone else's breathing other than just his own.

"Master Volt," Rain greeted. Volt turned to greet him, an unpleasant look on his dark face.

"Rain, have you completed your mission? Fully?"

For a split second, the other dog looked worried - that he might have forgotten something, that Volt had not been pleased with his work - before instantly returning his self confident and easy smile. "Surely, Volt. And I have taken care of Arrow's most important protection as well."

"So you have captured my brother?" Volt knew the answer, but enjoyed watching as Rain gulped. What Volt didn't like was that Rain was the one who could keep a defiant glare at even Volt without showing any signs of cowering. Volt's best guess as to why Rain never showed any indifference to him was because Sypher had trained him to do just that; stare into the eyes of the enemy without losing focus.

"Well, sir, there was a slight problem with that priorty."

Volt gave him an amused look. "You mean the top priorty?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do tell, Rain," Volt sat in front of him, as if ready to listen to a story. "And make it speedy."

"Yes, sir," Rain acted irritated, but Volt could also sense uneasiness hidden behind it. "Well, just as my dogs and I got to Bolt's street we happened upon Sypher, who, to my best guess, had hurried to protect Bolt the instant the cameras went down. He stalled us, long enough so that yet another distraction came up, this one having to do with Bolt himself. Who knows how he knew that we were out there, across the street, but he came over and . . . well, Sypher and I had to play a little game. You know, to keep the dog in the dark, of course." Rain paused.

"Yes, continue," Volt wore a bored frown.

"And when Bolt went back inside, Sypher obviously wasn't going to let me just go and kidnap him, and we had quite a tussle. But I must say, my training here has proven reliable and stronger than even his and I managed to defeat him."

"And you still couldn't get my brother, why?"

Rain shifted paws, now leaning slightly to the right. "Because we could not get both him and Sypher. And if we left Sypher, he would have stopped us and then there would really be no point."

Volt narrowed his eyes into slits, moving in closer to where he was nearly in the other dog's face. "The why didn't you kill him?"

Rain snorted. "I might have been strong enough to take him down, but killing him would prove harder than necessary. I . . . I actually figured that after we delivered him to you we could return back out and capture Bolt."

The black dog knew that this thought had only just occured to Rain, to save him from any punishment that Volt would give out for his fail. But seeing as how he was at the point of desperation to make his plan go farther, to get past the initial starting point, he shrugged it off for now.

"Wonderful," Volt spoke low, Rain turned his ears forward directly to hear him without moving a step. "See that you actually complete this mission. If you don't, you will likely never hear the end of it."

"Yes, sir," He nodded his head. "What would you like me to do with our new prisoner, sir?"

"Have you removed his paw-cam?"

"He did not have it on, sir. He must have neglected to bring it in his hurry to get to Bolt's house."

Volt smiled, glad that Sypher couldn't be tracked, hadn't been tracked. At least, to his knowledge. "Perfect. Lock him up in a cage next to Miss Angel and her friends. I'll come and question him later, if need be."

"Yes, master Volt." Rain nodded his head and left.

 **...**

"Come on, come on," mumbled a dog, staring at the watch-like device that was attached to his front right paw. "I don't have time for this." He glanced up at the moon overhead, then looked out the cluster of bushes he hid behind.

There was a tall, looming black building, shining from the brightness of the nights light. It was not too tall, just enough to hide all of the darkest secrets, the most devious of plans. The most evil of dogs, the one who was behind the reason why he was sitting there.

On the screen, static reigned. Dark lines, mixed grays and dark blacks, a few white stripes that covered the small picture.

That meant that the connection was more than likely still down at Headquarters. Which wasn't good because it meant that _no one_ was watching over and protecting Bolt.

He sighed, just as the screen came to life and showed a blurry, unfocused picture of Dalmatian. He brightened, happy to finally get somewhere.

"Carter!"

Carter's face lit up as he saw who it was, wagging his tail and getting excited. "Do I know you?"

"Yes! It's me, Flashe."

"Oh, hey, Flashe," Carter said, peering through the screen. "Where are you?"

"Carter, who is on the paw-cam?" A voice said, sounding as if someone spoke into a tin can.

The dog on the opposite screen turned his head to look behind him as someone walked closer, bending down to look at the small device. It was the leader to Flashe's group that had been sent out to follow Sypher, that had told him his new orders - to now follow Sypher as he was being lead away by Volt's agents.

"Flashe?"

"Sir, I have tracked the three dogs that took Sypher away and am now hiding outside of their base," Flashe spoke in a whisper, cautious of any patrols or guards that might have been around. "It doesn't seem to be a plotted V.A.D.D. building, but it is certainly the final destination of the dogs."

Flashe could just barely see that Arrow had now joined the small circle of dogs gathered around Carter's tiny paw-cam.

"Can you send the coordinates?" He knew it was Arrow who spoke, though he couldn't see him completely. "The computers and screens are still down, but Carter's paw-cam seems to be the only one working well. If you sent them, we can get a group of agents out there."

Flashe nodded. "I will need a few minutes, because my own device isn't working well."

"Thank you, Flashe," said Arrow. "Did Sypher seem alright when you last saw him? I don't know what they would do to him."

Cocking his head to one side, the dog sighed. "You know, it was really hard to catch Sypher's expression since I was hiding, but something tells me that he didn't just _give up._ "

"Meaning?" Carter, the one most confused about the whole topic, drawled. "I don't get your point."

"I am just saying that it isn't like him to lose a fight against Volt's dogs, not when the agency is depending so much upon him," Flashe answered, finding it hard to explain his feeling. "He isn't one to be defeated easily."

"I agree with you," Arrow said. "For his and all of our sake, let's hope he does have a plan."

 **...**

As Rain and a few other dogs lead Sypher into the prison cells, the cages that took up both walls, Angel and her companions were dumbfounded. Sypher, his head hung, did not even look up or awknowlege them or the fact that they were even there.

When he was locked in his own cage, opposite of Angel's and the cage to the right of her, holding Poppy and Kemp, Rain smirked.

"So what if we didn't get that dog on the first try?" Rain, an evil grin on his muzzle, said to Sypher. "We're going to get him this time, and before you know it Volt will take over the entire S.S.A.O.N.A. And you can't stop us now."

 **...**

Rain, mumbling to himself, exited the building into the night, once again. He had gotten three dogs to join him as he returned to capture Bolt, and was not enjoying the idea of meeting the white dog again.

It wasn't that he thought Bolt was anything of an opponent - not only was he completely ignorant to what was going on, he would also never be half as strong as Rain - but the fact that Rain has spent most of his life time protecting Bolt was quite strange. He wouldn't want it back the way it was, with him _against_ Volt, working alongside Sypher and Arrow, but he couldn't help but feel strange with Bolt. The one time he had been so close to him he could have killed him right there.

Shrugging off that feeling, he lead the three dogs through the bushes and trees, never noticing Flashe, who was hidden and praying that he was not found.

 **...**

As soon as Rain left the room the three dogs swiveled their heads back to the Cattle Dog, who's head was still hung low.

"Sypher?" Angel breathed, afraid of a million different outcomes. That Rain had been stronger, that Arrow now had no protection, that something even worse had happened.

Sypher's head jolted up and in a second he was smiling at the three dogs. "Hello, Angel, Kemp, Poppy. How are you doing this evening?"

Taken aback, neither of them knew what to say. It was Kemp who spoke first, disbelief evident in his voice. "Wha-what happened? You . . . You . . ."

"You can't say that I'm not a good actor," Sypher grinned, positively beaming. His plan was working smoothly, and with any luck it would continue that way. "Why are you all looking so surprised?"

"You came . . ." Poppy stumbled over her words in a rush to get them out. "You came to get us out?"

"Good guess, you are correct."

When Angel was finally able to get over her amazement and shock, she spoke. "So Rain didn't . . . didn't . . ."

"Defeat me? Is that even possible, Angel?" Nodding toward the door, Sypher's smile grew smaller, more forced, but still bright. "Everything he knows is from what I taught him. I know him like the back of my paw. I just had to pretend because I had to get you three out."

"That's great, Syph, but how do you propose to do that?" Kemp said, gesturing to the metal bars, the locked doors, the entire room. "We're _stuck._ "

"Maybe, maybe not," Sypher shrugged, momentarily switching subjects. "I am sure that Volt tried to question either of you?"

Three dogs nodded their heads.

"Did he say anything on what he was using to shut down our networks and entire connectivity without turning off the entire city's power?"

Three dogs shook their heads.

Sypher sighed, but brushed it off. "Never mind, we'll ask someone when we get out. I am guessing they took away your paw-cams, too?"

"Yep, everything that we could have used to contact you guys," Angel shook her head. "Figures."

"It does, but it makes things more exciting." Sypher took a deep breath. "Ok, I need y'all to work with me. This is going to get a little rough, but whatever we do, we have to do it fast. Rain is probably going back for Bolt and we need to get there before he does. I just want y'all to know that nothing is stopping us; meaning I can't make sure nobody is going to get hurt on Volt's team."

They all nodded in unison.

"Good. Then let's get out of here," Sypher twisted his paw perfectly so that it just barely fit through the small bars. Flicking his paw up, the metal bar lock slowly moved up and then, with another intricate twist, Sypher pushed it to the side, unlocking the door. It swung open with a creak. He darted over to undo each of their cage's, smiling, still. "Ready? Perfect. Let's go."


	14. To Rethink Disappointment

**Author's Note : Trying my hardest to get Dark Reality done by March 13. This story was originally supposed to be only a month long, but seeing as how I failed horribly at that, we're making that the new deadline. There will only be twenty chapters in this FanFic story ... so ...**

 **...**

 **~Chapter 14~**

Sypher, leading the three dogs, crept down the slick hallway, quieter than if he was a mouse, keeping his head ducked low in some sort of stealth attempt. They followed his every move, Poppy behind Sypher, Kemp behind Poppy, and Angel behind all of them. It was eerily silent.

They came to a four-way intersection in the hall. Sypher paused and peeked around the corner, squinting fro the harshly bright LED lights that shined from the ceiling. He whipped his head back as soon as he had glanced around - someone was coming. He signaled them to be quiet and they waited, hardly daring to breathe.

A scrawny mutt, looking straight ahead, never turning once in their direction, marched past them and doown the other way, never making a sound save for his paw steps. When Sypher was absolutely sure that they were alone again, he turned the corner and began walking again, a silent command for the three to start following.

"We need to find someone who looks like they could be useful," Sypher whispered, looking around at all the closed, metal doors with keypads and codes on the bottom, easy access for animals who couldn't turn knobs. "Someone who knows the place."

"So we're looking for someone who can help us, or give us directions?" Kemp tilted his head to the side. "Why?"

"Because, as of right now, while we are at Volt's base, our top priority is to find whatever he is using to shut down the computers and fix it."

"But I thought our top priority was to protect Bolt?" Poppy said, looking around.

Sypher grunted. "Well, who's to say we don't have two top priorities?"

"They're both very good ideas." Spoke a voice from seemingly nowhere. The four dogs came to a halt and looked around, their hearts racing. They had been found. They had been trapped. The plan had no failed. Or had it?

"Try looking _up_ ," The voice suggested. Four dogs looked up in unison.

There was a single, long strip of metal going across the ceiling, just low enough so that someone - or some animal - could sit on it. A cat, to be specific; black with gray stripes, eyes that held in years worth of evilness and cruelty. In short, Fabio, the cat.

Sypher growled, crouching down with bared fangs glinting off the bright light. "Sometimes looking up isn't the best thing."

"I completely agree with you," Fabio chuckled, wrapping his tail around his legs. "I am surprised that you hadn't gotten out sooner, I was waiting, hoping I wasn't going to be disappointed. And it turns out I wasn't."

"You're going to have to rethink that thought in a moment," Sypher mumbled, low enough so that only his three companions could hear him.

Fabio leaned in. "What was that, Sypher?"

"I said," He was still too quiet, Angel knew that Fabio wouldn't be able to hear him. "You're going to have to rethink that."

"For dogs sake, speak up!" Fabio, growing annoyed, leaned down toward him.

Sypher gave a barely noticeable signal to Angel and she acknowledged him with a blinking of her eyes.

"You're going to want to rethink that in a moment!" Sypher barked, nodding at Angel.

Like a fireball streaking through the sky she pushed off the slick ground and dove for Fabio, seeing his eyes widen and his mouth open to release a squeak before she knocked him off the platform, to the ground. He was too struck and surprised that he couldn't make a sound as she held him down, breathing hard. Sypher hurried over, as did Kemp and Poppy.

Fabio gasped for breath that was not coming, tried hard to pump oxygen back into his lungs. When he was finally able to get out a few words, he managed to say, "Okay . . . now I am . . . rethinking . . . what I said . . ."

Sypher grinned. "I figured you would come to that conclusion." He looked around, making sure no one from Volt's team was near. "We're kind of in a hurry because my previous trainee, now a professional fighter, is on his way to kidnap my new trainee. So I would advise you to answer our questions, and answer them fast. Have you got that?"

It took a moment and a snarl from the dog on top of him, but Fabio started nodding his head vigorously, unable to speak. That was fine with Sypher, as long as he understood.

"Now, Fabio, do you mind telling me how Volt shut down the computers at all the S.S.A.O.N.A buildings and where I might be able to turn them back on?"

 **...**

It had been decided that Carter was going to join two dogs and Maria, much to everyone's uneasiness, on the trip to help Sypher and the three kidnapped dogs escape. Because, if Arrow's logic had been correct, Volt would have needed some sort of machine to cause the shut down of the network and communicating connections. And for that, Carter was needed, for he was the most knowledgeable in technology.

Arrow was to stay behind, so that he could organize a group to go and patrol Bolt's neighborhood as well as plan a rescue group in case Maria and her team got in trouble. Every nerve was humming, every noise set him on edge, startled him. Now he did not have Sypher, Carter, nor Maria, all of them who he trusted to be there to help him. He had to keep reminding himself that everything would go according to plan, everything would work out fine. But he didn't believe in those reassurances, and he wouldn't until everyone was back at HQ, safe and sound.

He had just sent out ten scouts to go to Bolt's house, knowing that it would take at least ten minutes to get there, and prayed that Volt wasn't going for his brother now that he had Sypher.

He also hoped that Sypher had gotten out, had managed to get all of them out, and that the only thing left to do was find a way to turn the computers back on.

Breathing in and out, clearing his mind, Arrow looked around at the walls and the floors and the screens that were blackened. The dust that had gathered up over the years caked everything, from every corner of the floor to every speck on the ceiling. Disgusting as it sounded, it was home and base and the safest place to be. Or was, at least, before the other packs got attacked.

"Okay, this is what we're going to do," Arrow spoke clear despite the cobweb in his brain. "I want a group of fifty dogs to each of the attacked pack buildings, I need you to help out as best as you can. Take your paw-cam and try to contact us if you need any help."

Out of the large group, three second-tier leaders nodded and directed their group of fifty out the old wooden door. Arrow turne to look at the remaining dogs, estimating around forty left. The main level could hold up to four hundred dogs, if eveyone squeezed in tight enough.

"I want the rest of you to be ready at a moments notice to go over to Volt's base, the one that Flashe just sent the coordinates to, if Maria or any of her team contact us needing help," Arrow looked over the dogs, taking another deep breath. "As of right now I need everyone to be prepared to fight if need be, for we no longer have Sypher to do that job."

All of the dogs nodded, ready to anything that could help.

"As for right now, I need you all to continue trying to restart the computers. The faster we get them working again, the easier this will be."

And if anything, a little easier would be much better.

 **...**

"How are we going to do this?" One of the dogs sent with Rain asked. "The dog is inside the house. We're hiding behind a bush in his yard."

Rain rolled his eyes, irritated at the dog for asking the question he had no answer to. "We're . . . we are going to wait until he is let out for the final time tonight and then we'll pounce on him and take him back to Volt."

The dog sniffed, having other thoughts. "It's past midnight, he's not coming out again."

Rain growled at the dog, shutting him up instantly. "Just be quiet - I have a brilliant plan and you're interrupting my train of thought."

"Yes, sir."

 _How do you get a dog out of a house?_ Rain pondered, scrambling to come up with anything that could pass for a plan. Anything that would work. _Come on, there has got to be a way . . ._

"I've got it!" Rain brightened, reminding himself to keep his voice down. "What we're going to do is get into his house -"

"Volt said not to," One of the dogs reminded him, cutting him off.

It didn't stop Rain, he just switched thoughts, changing his thinking just a slight bit so he stayed inside Volt's restrictions. "We'll find the room that he is in and somehow wake him up or get his attention or something. And then we'll direct him outside and . . . we've captured a dog!"

His buddies faces lit up with smiles at this new plan, all of them agreeing that it was the best way. Of course, none of them stopped to think about what would happen if they met an S.S.A.O.N.A member before they completed their mission.

 **...**

 _He kept seeing fire, fire and blood all around. It was covering every surface, the flickering flames trapping him and the blood pooling around his paws. There was no way to turn to get away from it, it was getting closer and closer until he was standing in a circle, blood seeping from the flames that surrounded him._

 _His eyes darted left and right, searching for a way out. It didn't matter where he was or why he was there, he just wanted to get out._

 _And then, just as the fire began to lick at his paws and the blood start to soak and stain his white fur, it faded so all that was left was blackness. And then the darkness started to shift and change, grass grow beneath his paws, a moon start to rise above his head._

 _Looking around he saw Sypher, his weird and eccentric friend, gesturing him to follow to the other side of the hill that they were on. Sypher was smiling, and that made Bolt start to feel comforted, calmed as if the sight of the Cattle Dog could take away all the pain from the previous nightmare._

 _And just as he reached the other side of the hill, a bright whiteness covered his vision until he could see nothing else. Then it turned black again, but more slowly, less suddenly._

 _With a deep breath, Bolt fell soundly asleep until yet another nightmare chased him from his peace._


	15. How To Wake A Dog

**Author's Note : I prefer writing action, it suits me. Hehe. Omdog, only five more chapters after this! :O (Any misspellings, incorrect grammar, or things that are in this FanFiction have passed by my look-over. I am sorry for that, for I know in some cases it gets annoying.)**

 **...**

 **~Chapter 15~**

After getting Fabio to talk, Sypher had let the cat go with the promise that if he spoke a word of their escape to anyone, he would be dead before he knew it. The Cattle Dog figured he wouldn't need a cat around, especially him, when they were in such a hurry.

According to Fabio, the room that held the machine was below ground, a sub-level. Sypher, Angel, and Kemp were making good time in hurrying to get there before anyone was alerted of their absence. Poppy had been sent back to Headquarters to inform Arrow of their plan and retrieve more dogs to help out if they needed.

So far they had not come across any of Volt's guards or soldiers, which made them each relieved. Not that they thought they wouldn't have to deal with any along the way, that was a given. Volt would never leave his top-secret machinery without protection.

"Turn left," Angel repeated the instructions she had memorized from Fabio's stumbling directions. "Go down this hall until you see a plaque on the right side saying 'stairs'."

Sypher nodded in acknowledgement, glad that he did not have to remember everything that cat had said.

Before any of the group knew it, they came to the stairs and turned right . . . nearly hitting into a surprised dog.

In a blink of an eye the dog realized who was standing in front of him and his eyes grew wider, noting that Sypher was already growling and getting ready to attack. Still on the last stair, the dog had no clue what to do but turn and try to get away, just as Sypher lunged for him.

He yelped as the impact came, Sypher pushing him down onto the staircase landing. Despite his cries and whimpers and pleas to be let go, Sypher knocked him out without thinking twice.

Looking back up the stairs, Sypher nodded at Angel and Kemp, who were staring and blinking. What had just happened had not processed, nor did it for several few moments. After 2.3 seconds, Sypher grew annoyed, wanting to get things moving again.

"What just happened?" Kemp shook his head.

Sypher sighed, starting down the next staircase. "I just gave us access to the room where the machine is located."

They hurried after him.

 **...**

Poppy ran out of the building using the broken vents that ran through the old structure. She was not too happy to be leaving Sypher's side since she would have no protection, but she realized the urgency of her job and did it without question.

Just as she had begun to make her way through the bushes that were surrounding the building, she heard a surprised voice call her name.

"Poppy?"

She came to an abrupt halt, ducking down immmediately in the case that one of Volt's agents had spotted her. Her eyes darted around frantically, searching for the cause of the noise. A rustling of the bushes to her right made her heart start to speed up and pound in her ears until it drowned out every other noise of the night.

A dog's head popped out of the bushes, confused, questioning, and surprised. Poppy nearly melted in relief when she realized it was a member from the S.S.A.O.N.A, confirmed by the paw-cam around his front paw.

"Flashe?" She breathed, standing up again.

"Poppy, what are . . . I thought Volt kidnapped you!" Flashe said, coming out completely of the shrubs. "Where is Angel and Sypher and Kemp?"

"Inside, still," said Poppy, keeping her voice low. "Sypher got us out and now the three of them are going to try and shut down the machine that is keeping the S.S.A.O.N.A's electricity off."

Flashe twisted his face in confusion. "But none of them know how those kind of things work!"

"I'm sure they will get one of Volt's mechanics to help," Poppy shrugged, though she hadn't even thought about that. "Sypher can get anyone to assist them."

"True, true."

Poppy looked back at the looming building again, her eyes flashing as she remembered that she needed to _hurry_. "I'm sorry, Flashe, but I have to inform Arrow of this immediately. Sypher is trusting me to get this information to him and get some dogs to come and help."

"Arrow has already sent a group of dogs, including Maria, and they are on their way here right now to help," Flashe brightened. "And we can contact them with my paw-cam, if the connection works."

"Perfect!"

They both sat down and Flashe tried to establish a link from the device to one of the S.S.A.O.N.A members, hopefully Carter again. All that came from the mini computer was static and gray and black lines.

 **...**

A thunk on the window.

Nothing.

Another thunk, this one a but louder.

The cat on the bed shifted positions next to the exercise ball.

"Come on, come _on_ ," Rain mumbled, watching as one of his companions tried to wake the dog up by jumping up and smacking the window with his paw. "We don't have time for this."

After two more tries the dog stopped and turned to face his commander. "I don't think it's going to work."

"Well, it isn't if you stop now, idiot!" Rain replied, letting out a deep breath, calming down. "Let me try."

"Alright." He stepped aside.

Twisting his neck to stretch it, Rain walked over to the window. It wasn't too high, just enough for a simple jump up. He bounded up and thumped the window, landing on all four of his paws. His other guard jumped up to see if it worked, landing on his rump.

"I think it's working!"

"Of course it is." Rain rolled his eyes and got ready to jump again.

 **...**

Getting into the room proved slightly difficult, as Sypher was determind on making sure that there was no one left consious to report what had happened back to Volt. Angel and Kemp were helpful, but they couldn't handle four dogs at a time like Sypher could and were struggling to keep up.

Along with his own attackers, Sypher did his best to help the other two, desperate to get into the room that was only a few feet away, to complete this mission and go stop Rain from kidnapping Bolt.

It was surprisingly how fast his thinking had changed over that night. He had gone from certain that he couldn't lay a paw on his former friend to ready to kill him if he dared touch the white dog. It was as if his mind could easily draw a line between the now and the before, keeping the past buried so that he could continue on with the next step in the mission.

Sypher took yet another dog down, quickly noting how there were only four left before they could enter the machine room. With any hope there would be no reinforcements to ruin their work just as they were about to make it inside.

Giving up on working seperately, Angel and Kemp started fighting the dogs together, working as a team. It was working well, and before long all of Volt's guards were down and there was a clear path to the door.

Shaking himself, Sypher nodded his head in approval at the two dog's fighting skills, then turned and went into the vacant room. All three of the group, as soon as they entered the room, were awed by all the machinery and devices that surrounded the room, cluttered the room. There were so many that only a single walkway went through the large room, stretching all the way to the far back.

Though they did not know the purpose of every single item they saw, they figured it was something bad, meant to bring down Arrow and capture Bolt and take over the world. If Carter had been there, he probably would have been able to figure every one of the machines out in less time than it would take for Sypher to shut down one.

"Where is the machine we're looking for?" Sypher asked Angel, unable to recall what Fabio has said.

"Near the back," She said, walking ahead. Cleary she remembered the extremely brief description of the machine that the cat had given and could find it easier than both boys. "It should be somewhere around here . . ."

 **...**

Maria and her team were staying low to the ground as the finally reached the location of Volt's secret base. She could smell another dog nearby, the smell familiar and she knew it was Flashe. She could smell another dog, too, with the same familiarity, but this one was more hazy and faded.

Creeping silently through the bushes, Maria signaled her group to slow as she came closer to the spot where Flashe had said he would be. A second later they saw him, sitting and having a whispered conversation with - surprise - Poppy. Their heads flew up as they heard them come close.

As soon as they could identify each dog thanks to the moonlight, they're faces relaxed.

"You gave me a scare there for a moment!" Poppy exclaimed, smiling. "I thought you might have been one of Volt's dogs, maybe Rain."

Maria shook her head, feeling a smile crawl up her muzzle. Poppy was out here, that might mean that Sypher, Angel, and Kemp were, too. "No, no. I am so happy you're out safe! Where are the others?"

"Back inside," Flashe responded, tossing his head in the direction of the black building. "Sypher was set on stopping that machine and getting the connection back and running at all the S.S.A.O.N.A pack buildings."

Maria's relief dropped away, the worry for the three dogs starting again. "But they know nothing about that kind of thing!"

"I know, but who else is there to do it?" Flashe shrugged, but she could tell that he was thinking the same thing.

"Wait," One of Maria's companions said, stepping forward. He had a silver pelt and green eyes that glistened in the light of the moon."What if we contact Carter, get him on Poppy's paw-cam, and send her back into the building to find Sypher. Then Carter can direct them what to do to shut the machine down." He looked directly at Poppy. "You do know where the machine is located, right?"

Poppy nodded.

"I think that is a great idea," said Maria. "It's worth a shot."

"We were having some issues with the paw-cam when we last tried contacting HQ, but I am optimistic that it will work this time," Flashe said as Poppy pulled up an establish link. "If it doesn't work . . ."

"We will think of another plan." Maria answered calmly. "We will do whatever is necessary to get them out of there with all missions completed."

"And also, we need to get a group of dogs to stop Rain before he gets to Bolt's hou-"

"Already taken care of," Maria said, interrupting Poppy. "Arrow was organizing groups before I left, they should be on their way there now."

Flashe nodded. "Good. I know the first thing Sypher is going to do once he gets out is head straight to Bolt's house. So if those dogs can hold off Rain for a while, Sypher will finish them off when he gets there."

"Sounds like a plan."


	16. Troubled Dreams Lead To Traps

**Author's Note : Stars above, four more chapters but I'm going out on a limb here. Uh oh . . . Again, thank you to all who have reviewed, it means a lot to me to receive feedback. :D**

 **...**

 **~Chapter 16~**

 _Fog covered every surface of the ground, every inch in the sky surrounding Bolt. It was heavy and suffocating, pushing down on him, weighing him down. Yet he felt light, despite the extra weight, though it made no sense at all._

 _No one was around, or if they had been he was not able to see them through the thick fog._

 _"I don't get it," Bolt said, his words floating in the air like ice crystals, before vaporizing. "I just don't get it."_

 _He did not kow what he didn't get, what he was so confused about. He had no clue where he was, how he had gotten there. Was this a dream?_

 _Then, out of the fog, a voice. "What don't you get?"_

 _Bolt spun around, some of the heavy fog disapating. He looked around but saw no signs of anyone. He shook his head to clear it, but he kept hearing the voice in his head, asking him over and over what he didn't get._

 _"I . . . I don't know," Bolt answered, his voice cracking. "Wh-where am I? What is happening?"_

 _Squinting his eyes, he could make out a shape in the fog, slowly coming closer and closer to him, until he was finally visible, standing right in front of him. Bolt tilted his head, confusion swarming his clouded mind._

 _"Sypher?"_

 _"What don't you get?" Sypher repeated, as if he hadn't spoken at all._

 _"I just am confused, I have no clue what is going on and I . . ." Bolt paused, unsure what to say now. Though Sypher's presence normally made him feel calm, a sense of familiarity, this time it only served to make him more confused and nervous. "I want to get out of here."_

 _"Get out of here?" Sypher said, looking up. Bolt did the same, to see more fog, thick and surrounding. "Bolt, there is no way to get out of here."_

 _"No way?"_

 _"We can't win this battle," Sypher looked him straight in the eyes, seriousness the only expression on his face. "He is going to defeat us, and then we will all be gone."_

 _After a long moment of staring into Sypher's serious, sure, and weary face, Bolt started to shiver. Something wasn't right. It wasn't making sense. For Sypher to say something like that - forget about what battle he was talking about - was unusually and unsettling. Bolt took a step back, deeper into the foggy haze, unable to tear his eyes away from the dog standing in front of him._

 _"He's going to win," said Sypher, sighing and shaking his head. "No matter what we do."_

 _Bolt turned his head and started looking around, sensing another presence in the whiteness that covered him. He didn't see anything, and turned his attention back to Sypher, giving a gasp of surprise._

 _Sypher had been replaced with a strange dog, an mysterious, gray and black furred dog with matching eyes. His fur was slightly ruffled and he wore a smilee that looked exeedingly pleased and held devious thoughts._

 _Where had Bolt seen this dog before, why did he look familiar? Had he passed by him one time or another and his subconsious picked up on it, keeping it tucked into his brain without him knowing? And where had Sypher gone?_

 _"He will win, Bolt," The dog said, snickering. "He will win and become triumphant, and there is nothing you or anyone can do."_

 _And then, everything around Bolt, despite the blinding whiteness, turned to black, and all the haunting voices faded away._

 **...**

Bolt's head jerked up and his eyes darted around the room, breathing hard, unable to catch his breath. He was in Penny's bedroom, laying on her bed with his friends and the red headed girl, all of whom were sleeping soundly.

The dream had shaken him up, even now that he was awake and that wisps of it were starting to erase from his memory as dreams normally do. His heart was still pounding, refusing to settle and calm. It was late night. No one else was awake. He was safe.

But was Sypher?

The thought crossed Bolt's mind, questioning the safety of the dog, even though in the dream Sypher had seemed so different, so much stranger. But it was a dream, nothing more. He was safe, and he was almost positive that Sypher was as well.

 _Thunk._

Bolt looked the only window in the room, his eyes widening at the noise. He saw nothing. Blinking his eyes, he shivered and looked away, trying to push away all the strange and frightening thoughts.

 _Thunk._

This time, Bolt caught sight of something brown and blurred, up and down in a blink of an eye. He waited, still as a statue. A few seconds later, the thunk came again and he saw something that resembled a dog, up and then down.

Despite instinct telling him not to, Bolt's curious got the best of him and he jumped off the bed, making his way to the window in the dark.

When he looked down, for the window was quite high on the outside, he saw a single brown dog, looking up at him and gesturing for him to come out. Again, instinct told him he shouldn't, that he should go wake Mittens up or even Penny, but curiousity won over sensibility.

Bolt nodded to the strange dog and ran out the door, never thinking once of a trap that might be set.

 **...**

Angel clicked a button, not knowing what it did or what it's purpose was. There were a great many buttons on the computer-like machine, it was so very confusing and frustrating.

Frustrating because Sypher was relying on her and Kemp to figure the complex device out while he kept any of Volt's agents away. Whatever they did, there were too many unlabeled buttons and keyboards to choose from, and any could have been the shut off switch.

"Come on, you stupid piece of junk!" Angel murmurred to herself, letting Kemp haev a turn at the guessing game. "We have to get back to Headquarters!"

Kemp shook his head after a moment of clicking and staring at the giant screen. "It's not working. This isn't working."

"Obviously," Angel let out a deep breath, sitting down to stare at the keyboard with distaste. "Carter is the only one who could do something like this, he knows everything when it comes to anything mechanical or technology related."

"Yeah, but Carter ain't going to come to us," Kemp said, looking down the long hall, seeing Sypher, with his back turned toward him, guarding just outside the room. "We have to figure this out, it can't be all that complicated."

"You think Volt would make it simple?"

"No, but it's got to be easy enough for his brainless mutts to figure out."

"Brainless, indeed," Angel shook her head, wishing she could abandon her entire mission. "Kemp, they have invented _new technology_. They are not the brainless, senseless dogs you think they are."

Kemp sighed. "I know, but sometimes it is nice to think of them as that."

"Yeah."

 _Click, click, click._ Nothing was working, the machine wouldn't even register that buttons were being clicked, it was as if the screen was frozen on that one page, a big, gray screen that had numbers and letters in the center as if it were a code.

"This is useless."

They heard noises from down the hall, in the direction of the door. Sypher, not taking down another dog, but talking to a fast speaking dog, one that they could not see. Angel's heart fluttered with a million thoughts of who it could be. Maybe someone to come and help, an S.S.A.O.N.A member? Maybe Poppy had made it safely back to Headquarters and had retrieved help?

And then Sypher was coming down the hall with another dog. Angel deflated a little when she saw that is was Poppy. So she had failed in escaping and getting help, and was back with them. That meant that Arrow wouldn't know what was happening and how to help. It was looking bleaker and bleaker as they came closer.

"Poppy, what are you doing back here?" Kemp said when they got close enought to hear him. "I thought you were supposed to go back and alert Arrow!"

Angel prepared for the worst as Angel began to speak. "As soon as I got out of the building, I was running back to HQ when I found Flashe, one of our agents. He had followed you, Sypher, when Rain brought you here and had contacted them on what had happened, and sent the coordinates. With his paw-cam, we got connected to Arrow and he sent Maria with some other dogs to help. And we can get Carter on the paw-cam Flashe gave me so he can help us with the machine!" She took a deep breath, having spoken that at a rapid pace.

Angel's entire face was lit by the time she had finished speaking. "That's wonderful! We can't get this to work, but I bet Carter will know how to do it!"

Kemp nodded vigorously, agreeing and glad to be relieved of this job that he knew nothing about.

"Let's just hope the link works," Sypher said, his voice warning in the case that their idea failed. "Poppy said that the paw-cams aren't working so well."

Sitting down into a comfortable position, Poppy established the link. They waited. And waited. And waited. Nothing happened but static.

Shrugging with disappointment, Kemp looked around at the other dogs. "Well, it was worth a try, at least."

Right as he finished speaking, however, the small screen lit up and showed a Shepherd's face, full of hope and concern.

"Arrow!" Angel exclaimed, leaning in so that he would be able to see her. "It's Angel."

Arrow smiled, the look geniune. "Then I guess Maria's little plan worked, right? Now all I need to do is get Carter on the line."

"Wait, Arrow," Sypher said before the dog on the other screen could move. "Poppy told me that you had sent some dogs out to intercept Rain and stop him from kidnapping Bolt. Have you had any reports?"

Arrow shook his head. "No. I'm sorry, there hasn't been any news. I sent another group out not but three minutes ago, there was at least five of them."

Sypher grimaced, having to accept that; there was nothing he could do about it. Arrow gave him an apologetic look before letting Carter take over the screen.

The Dalmatian wagged his tail and started bouncing in place, rattling the small screen of the paw-cam. "Oh! Sypher, Angel, Kemp, Poppy! I was so worried about all of you! How is it going? Having fun without me?"

"Not exactly," Kemp said, glancing behind him at the huge computer. "It's been more difficult than fun."

"Aw, that is too bad," Carter frowned, but then got excited again. "You know, I once started chasing a squirrel, which I thought was going to be fun, but it turned out very, very difficult. You see, he climbed a tree and I couldn't. So I had to jump onto the nearest limb I could reach and -"

"That's wonderful, Carter," Sypher interrupted. "I think I know how it ends. You get stuck, i save you, end of story. Now, we need your help in shutting down Volt's weapon - a giant computer that cut off the S.S.A.O.N.A's entire communication and electricty system - so we can get home safely and I can save you from mroe messes like that."

"I see," Carter said after a minute. "Okay, show me this machine!"

Poppy bent her head and unlatched the paw-cam from her paw, gripping it in her mouth to angle it at the keyboard and computer screen.

"We couldn't get it to go past this page, it won't respond to any command we have given it, though we aren't really sure what we have told it to do," Angel said, filling him in on the information. "I have tried almost everything and it still didn't work."

Carter twisted his head in concentration, before a bright look crossed over his face. "I don't know, just a suggestion, but maybe you could try unlocking the screen?"

"Unlocking . . . the screen?" Kemp repeated. "Um, how would we do that?"

"Search for a long, rectangle button, the one closest to the plus symbol on the keyboard," Carter said, trying his best to be as descriptive as possible.

Angel did as he said. The screen flashed a little white box that read **SCREEN UNLOCKED**.

"Well," Angel said, sighing. "That was simple."


	17. Taken Down

**Author's Note : I am trying as hard as I can to write a chapter every night, and I realize that some of the chapters have been shorter than normal. Deeply sorry for that.**

 **...**

 **~Chapter 17~**

"What next?" Angel asked, glancing at the paw-cam that Poppy was holding, angled at the computer and keyboard so that Carter to see.

Carter's eyes flitted over the buttons, then he pointed at the screen. "You see that button to the far left, the one under the circular button?"

"Yes," Angel located it a moment later. "Press it?"

"Press it," Carter nodded, surprisingly calm. Though it may have amazed someone who hadn't known him and only seen the wild side, Carter turned into a normal dog when he was doing his job. "And then that blinking green square near the number 3, click that twice."

Angel followed the instructons, then waited for Carter to say something else. When he didn't, she turned back to him and gave him a questioning look.

"Just waited to see if the computer would explode," Carter gave a laugh. "It was either going to go further into the coding to break it down or it was going to explode."

Poppy and Angel shared an exasperated look between each other. The thought of an explosion would be disastrous, and the fact that the Dalmatian across the screen took it in such good humor did not help their bouncing nerves.

A sound came from down the hall, all the way back at the door. Angel half expected some dog - possibly even the evil Volt himself - to be striding toward them, but was relieved to see only Sypher and Kemp, stopping yet another guard from entering.

"Now what?" Angel let out a held breath, releasing all her bottled fear and anxiety of everything that could go wrong. "And whatever you tell me, it had better not make this thing go KABOOM."

"Never fear, Angel," He winked at her. "I am a pro at this."

Looking up at the lines and lines of codes that they were _de_ coding, Angel tried to feel optimistic. But it felt as though they were getting nowhere, and beads of sweat were forming on her furry head as she thought about what would happen if Sypher did not get to Bolt's house in time.

Suddenly, before any other horrible thoughts could go through her mind, an overly loud and obnoxious alarm sounded, blaring from every corner of the empty room. Angel ducked, tryign to block out the instant noise, before squinting and gritting her teeth against the sound.

"What is that?" Angel had to yell over the alarm it was so loud. She turned to see two dogs running at her, both of them with their eyes wide. They came to an abrupt stop at the computer.

"Angel, someone has set off the intruder alarm!" Sypher barked, his eyes flashing. "We need to hurry and shut down the machine before we get attacked and ambushed by Volt's dogs!"

Carter was hopping up and down again, his expression a mixture of fear, a need to hurry, and full of energy. "Ok, ok, ok! Click that red button, the one next to the two orange ones on the left!"

 **...**

Bolt made his way through the kitchen, sleep clinging to his mind. He was more awake than he expected himself to be, and he guessed maybe that was because of Sypher's late night exercises. Or maybe, just maybe it was because of the strange dog at the window.

Maybe this was something Sypher was doing, that they were now going to go out with more dogs. But why would he do that? Sypher seemed more of a private dog, with secrets that were mysterious and questionable.

Whatever it was, Bolt was deadset on finding out who this dog was.

Slipping out the doggy door that remained unlocked in case the pets needed to go out, since they obviously couldn't get out the gate (or so they thought). It was really, really late, but not to where it would be considered morning. The moon wasn't completely gone yet, it was still very dark outside.

Bolt twisted his head, looking in all directions. He had gone out through the back way because it had been the quickest route from the bedroom. Walking down the three small, concrete steps, he stopped as soon as his paws hit the grass.

Something didn't feel right about the night air, as still and quiet as it was. Peaceful, maybe, but haunting all at the same time. As he walked around the side of the house, he couldn't help but question his actions.

What if it was something dangerous, what if something was going to happen to him? Mittens would never forgive him if he got kidnapped.

Bolt smiled to himself. How many dogs would kidnap another dog? Zero, to his knowledge. The thought was stupid, and, despite the nagging feeling, he continued walking.

A step later, something hit Bolt on his head, hard, knocking him to the chilled ground. His world turned black, nothing in his vision but pure darkness.

Over him stood a grinning dog - Rain, pleased that the plan was now fifty percent complete. The rest was going to be as simple as taking the dog back to base and letting Volt at him.

 **...**

Running on slick floors, trying hard not to trip over each other, and trying to figure out how to get out of the building was something that three of the four dogs were doing. Angel, Kemp, and Poppy were freaking out due to the fact that Sypher had blatantly admitted that he had no clue how to get out and that they were being pursued by a large group of hungry dogs.

"Turn left!" Sypher spun around the corner with a deceptive ease. They followed, each slamming into the wall and skidding, but pushing harder to keep up with the Cattle Dog.

Angel swung her head around to see that the dogs were catching up, no longer a good distance behind them. "Hurry!"

It was like a maze, so many halls and doors that were either opened or locked, several dogs that had stared at them in amazement and let them pass until their fellow friends came rushing by.

"Turn here, turn here!" Poppy screamed, a new excitment in her voice. "I think the vent is this way!"

Sypher did what she said and turned, stopping just as soon as he saw the dog that was standing not five feet in front of him, blocking a side vent attached to the wall, open. His friends slowed, stopping less as gracefully as Sypher but managing not to skid again. They were all panting, breathing deeply.

Volt gave a sickening smile and took a single step toward them. "Sypher, I do believe you were supposed to stay locked up."

Sypher growled, flinching when he heard Volt's minions slow down and stop behind them, creating a trap.

"Did you really think that letting Fabio go was a good choice?" Volt shook his head as if pitying him. "Bad idea. I am just sorry that he wasn't able to inform me until nearly too late."

"It was too late," Angel snarled at him, a defiance glowing on her face. "We already shut down your oh so wonderful machine."

Volt stiffened, looking past them into the crowd of evil dogs. "Is what she says true?"

A dog stepped forward, her head listed politely. "Yes, sir. They managed to break the entire machine by confusing it, giving it too many commands at once. There was no damage down to the outside of the computer, but the inside practically imploded."

Volt scowled, setting his eyes back on the four dogs. The scar tissue that was slightly raised, running down his face, made him look more like a nightmare than an actual dog. He was obviously not happy with what they had done.

But a second later, he seemed to regain his uncanny calm, his sureness. "Very well, that is not the only thing we have to take down Arrow and his sorrowful gang. The first step is where we are right now; you're trapped. Again."

"Think whatever you want," Sypher said. He stopped snarling and stood straight, his expression going unreadable. Angel had been with him for years, and she could tell he was planning a different way to escape. "You're going to fail."

"Oh really?" said Volt, nodding at some dogs behind them. "Take them back to the prisoner cages. Post a guard. I don't want them escaping again."

"Yes, sir," said several dogs in unison, stepping up to obey orders.

Sypher gave the three dogs a small wink and bent down, springing up so fast that their eyes could hardly follow his quick movements. He did a flip backward, propelling himself behind the dogs that stepped up. He gave the surprised dogs one quick, triumphant look before turning into one big weapon, using skills Angel, Poppy, and Kemp had never seen or even imagined.

Volt sat back and watched, not looking pleased at what was going on in front of him. A cat strode up to his side and sat down, perfectly unconcerned with the fighting.

"Would you care for me to call in some reinforcements, Volt?" Fabio said, sighing as he watched Sypher take down dog after dog. "They could be helpful in this case."

Volt rolled his eyes and sighed. "If we must. Although I do hate to disturb them, and it is going to get hectic around here."

Fabio chuckled, placing a paw on the black dog's shoulder. "Would you rather have them escape, or disturb some of your agents, who are under _your_ control?"

"Good point," Volt nodded, turning to face him. "Let's call the -"

Before he could finish speaking, something slammed into him. The wind was knocked out of him and he saw Fabio skittering away with a shriek of surprise, before he felt hot breath on his neck. Sypher was on top of him, teeth bared and eyes narrowed.

"Angel, Kemp, Poppy!" Sypher barked, never looking away from the black dog below him. "Get out, quick!"

Volt twisted his head to see that, out of the large group, most of the dogs were down. That left only a few confused and astounded dogs, unsure what to do. Sypher's three friends scurried out the vent, Kemp pausing before he entered completely, waiting for the Cattle Dog.

"I could kill you now," Sypher said, a seething hatred threaded into his voice. "But that is what makes us different, Volt. I can't kill a dog, no matter what he does or who he threatens to take out of my life. You may have taken Rain away from me, Volt, but it isn't over. It won't be over until Bolt reigns and evil has been destroyed."

Without waiting for another moment, Sypher spun off of him and ran, with Kemp, through the vents. Volt bolted to his feet, furious.

"Chase after them!" He demanded the dogs still standing. The tripped over themselves in a hurry to follow after them. Volt was left, breathing hard and shaking with rage.

Fabio hopped down from an overhead rafter, landing near the dog. "Volt, are you okay?"

Volt directed his gaze at him, not withholding a snarl. "The S.S.A.O.N.A's biggest defense just escaped. Half of my guards on duty are unconscious and laying in front of me. My machine is broken. DO YOU THINK I AM OKAY?"

"Calm down, calm down," Fabio said. "Before I came over here with you to watch that dog, I received a contact from one of our dogs out on the _main mission_." He paused to smile slyly. "They got the dog."

Volt's ears perked up with a new hope. "My brother?"

Fabio nodded, grinning as he saw the change in reaction from his companion.

A smile grew on Volt's face, the hope that this night wasn't completely hopeless filling his head. He might have lost Sypher and his stupid, idiotic crew, but now he had the real deal, the purpose for everything. He was minutes away from acheiving his dream and meeting his long lost brother.


	18. Final Battle

**Author's Note : I have really enjoyed writing these past few chapters, more so than I have in a while. Let's hope I can finish this up tonight, and then we will only have two more chapters left! (PS. The name Opul is made up; I know how to spell Opal. Opul is a guy's name. XD)**

 **...**

 **~Chapter 18~**

As soon as Sypher and the three others had located Maria and her group again, the female Shepherd gave him updates.

"Arrow said that the internet and computer connections were responding to the rebooting process," She said to the exhausted dogs. "The paw-cam was working better than before, I think it worked!"

Sypher nodded. His mind was already skipping to the next step, planning out his next move. "What about the cameras? Are they working again?"

"They are still rebooting all of the screens," Maria said with a quiver in her voice. "And he said he hadn't heard from his agents who went to protect Bolt's house."

Sypher looked at Angel and Maria, and they instantly knew what he was thinking. They shared a glance before Maria nodded her head.

"Go, Syph. We'll catch up." Maria offered him an encouraging smile.

Nodding to acknowledge her, Sypher cocked his head to one side. "Are you sure y'all will be fine getting away from here?"

"Absolutely," Angel assured, stepping forward. "You already took down half of Volt's available army, we can handle the rest if we need to."

"Which hopefully we won't," One of the dogs said. "If we make a B-line back home or wherever we are going, we can beat Volt's dogs."

"They were right behind us," Sypher whispered, looking over his shoulder to Volt's hideout. "You need to leave soon."

"Go and don't worry about us," Maria said. "We're leaving right now."

Sypher nodded and, without another word, turned and left. Maria smiled to all the other dogs, all of them standing in unison. "We should follow Sypher - we can't go back to Headquarters and leave him to stop Rain, no matter how invincible that dog is."

"Which one? Sypher or Rain?" Kemp joked. His chuckle was cut off as something occured to him. "Well, I would like to think the former, but from a brief description of this 'new' Rain, I wouldn't be too sure."

"Come on, let's go," Maria lead the way, following in the Cattle Dog's paw tracks.

 **...**

"It's quiet," One dog whispered to the other, who was sitting right next to him. "I don't see anyone. Maybe Rain didn't come this way."

"That's insane," His friend mumbled, shifting positions so that the bush they were hiding in didn't jab him in the side. "If Arrow said that he was coming this way, then he is coming this way."

The other dog, Opul, sighed, setting his eyes once again on the empty street. He felt a yawn bubbling up in his throat but pushed it down, shaking off a wave of sleepiness. It was his job, along with his fellow watchers, separated but hiding in spots near, since Sypher wasn't able to be there. Which was a very alarming thought, for Sypher was one who never, ever got captured or even close to it. It just showed what they were up against.

"Wait, do you see that?" Opul whispered, nudging his friend, Nathan. "I think . . . I think that someone is in Bolt's yard."

Nathan squinted hard so he could see, his view of the back door cut off by a branch. "What? Who is it? What do you see?"

"A white dog just exited the building," He said, the fur on his back raising in time with his pulse. "He stopped after the stairs, and now he is looking around."

"Could it be Bolt, maybe?" Nathan questioned, looking sideways at Opul. "He's the only white dog we know who lives inside that house."

"Oh, yeah. Stupid me," Opul muttered. "Wait . . . the dog is walking around the side of the house. And . . . he's gone. I am guessing that Rowdy and Joule can see him at their station."

"What would that dog be doing at this time of night?" Nathan spoke his thoughts aloud. "Shouldn't he be sleeping?"

"Who knows? I have only gone on this watch three times in the past two months, and he hasn't ever done this before, how should I know?"

Nathan grumbled something under his breath. "I was kind of hoping you would."

"Well, if you're so desperate to find out, why don't we head over to Joule's and Rowdy's station to see what they see?" Opul suggested with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Good idea!" Nathan replied, turning to walk in the other dogs direction. "I have a bad feeling about this. I think . . . I think Rain has beaten us here."

"If you say so, bud." Opul trailed after him, letting him take the lead.

 **...**

Carter was rapidly clicking away, swishing away, pressing buttons, and clearing excess data content at a speed all to fast for a normal dog. His mind was awhirl and humming with a thousand thoughts, the next steps in the plan, the next movement of his paws. His job was to reconfigure all the passcodes for the entire S.S.A.O.N.A and make sure that none of the files had been hacked when the computers were down.

He was concentrating so hard on his tasks that he didn't hear a dog come in until the dog was standing right behind him.

"Is it working?" Arrow asked with a smile on his face. Carter spun in surprise, breathing out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Calm down, you look as though you thought I was Volt or something."

Carter gave a weak laugh. "You never know with how tonight has been going."

"That's true," Arrow looked at the screen, understanding almost half of the complicated words and codes and hidden messages. "Maria just contacted us through the paw-cam, she told me that Sypher had just left their group to head to Bolt's house." His smile faltered. "We haven't received any messages or information from the team we sent out. I don't know whether that is a good thing or a bad thing."

"Could be both. Want me to try and get a hold of one of them?"

"After you finish this," Arrow nodded toward the screen. "I don't know what Volt will try to do now that his machine is broken."

"It worked?" Carter's face brightened. Poppy had had to cancel their link before they found out if Carter's instructions worked, when Sypher had told them to get out of the room and follow him, quick.

"It did, thanks to you," Arrow patted him on the back with his paw. "And now we are waiting for Maria to contact us when they get to Bolt's house."

"Yay!" Carter was elated, so happy that he started chasing his own tail, making wheezing sounds as he went faster and faster. The Shepherd dog backed up and shook his head at his delusional friend, he couldn't help but smile. "This . . . means . . . that . . . before long . . . we'll . . . all be back . . . at Headquarters . . . safe . . . and sound!"

"Quite right," Arrow watched as Carter got dizzy and collapsed onto the hardwood floor, his eyes twisted and his tail crooked. He walked over and leaned down. "And we'll all be safe, like you said."

 **...**

The gate was open. The street was empty. Sypher was not perturbed, for he could sense that they had not left Bolt's yard yet.

Sneaking stealthily up to the white painted fence, Sypher raised up on his back legs and peeked over. The sight made him begin to panic, but he pushed it down until it was no longer a thought in his mind. He had to clear his senses so he could stop Rain, and after seeing Bolt unconscious on the ground, the stormy dog and his fellow minions smiling, he would need all of his thoughts emptied. Emptied, but for his fighting skills.

Taking a gulp of air, he sprung up in a single leap and landed nimbly on all four paws, on the other side of the fence. This surprised all of the other dogs, though Rain recovered quicker than the rest. Sypher growled, first glaring at the dog that was dragging Bolt's limp form by his collar, then to the leader of the group. Rain - once a friend, now an enemy. Just another roadblock in completing his mission.

Rain sighed, making dismissive noises. "Really, you just _had_ to follow me, didn't you, Syph?"

"The answer is obvious," Sypher said back. "I'm right in front of you, so, yes, I do have to follow you."

"You shouldn't have," Rain smirked, the expression sending a shiver down Sypher's spine. "Because it isn't going to end pretty."

Sypher was getting ready to lauch himself at the dog, but Rain held up a paw, stopping him. "I wouldn't try anything if I were you. One wrong move and this dog" He gestured to Bolt. "is a goner. Volt has given me permission to do whatever I needed to, to complete this mission."

The thought of tackling Rain was extinguished, as a candle would be if water had been splashed upon it. But it would work out, there had to be another way.

Two seconds later, he realized there was no other way, at least none that he was going to think of before Rain left the yard with the white dog. Something clicked in Sypher's mind; he was going to have to go with whatever he could, even if it meant harm to Bolt. If he just let Rain take him, even more harm would come to him.

Sypher flattened his ears on his head, lowering himself to the ground, raising his head just so slightly that his teeth flashed in the moonlight. Rain seemed to understand, lowering his eyes.

"It was your choi-"

Without waiting for him to finish, Sypher went for one of his dogs behind him, latching his teeth onto his head. The dog yelped, but that was cut off when Sypher slammed him into the other dog Rain had brought along. Sypher saw, through this, Rain leaping for Bolt, and scrambled out of the mess, leaping for him.

Slamming Rain onto the ground, right before he could land on Bolt, they tussled in the grass, rolling and snapping at each other. It was obvious that Sypher's opponent was going for the main artery, the vital, life pumping vein. He wasn't about to go down that easily.

Rain's agents just stood there, gaping at the two dogs, confused, unsure what to do or where to go. One of them started to go forward to assist Rain, but, from out of nowhere, Maria cut him off. Angel was on the other dog before he could register what had happened.

It was a battle that all the dogs knew had to be nearly silent. If it wasn't people inside the house would wake up and then all was lost from there on. So the snarls were quited, the squeals were kept barely audible, and the barks were muted.

Rain had made a mistake, and Sypher easily picked up on it, sensing Rain's weakness: keeping mental focus, his mind clear of distractions, while moving his body the way he wanted. He was distracted by the arrival of S.S.A.O.N.A members, and Sypher leaped at the chance.

Pushing Rain into the dirt, Sypher held him in place by a paw to his neck. Rain's eyes were wide and he was breathing hard with the strain of the fight. Sypher took a moment to reorient himself, glaring at the dog with steely eyes.

"You will never, _ever_ lay a paw on that dog again," Sypher said through clenched teeth. "Do you understand, Rain? I will always be there to stop you, and if I am not, that will be the time that Bolt rises up and conquers both you and Volt. Either get out of here with your dogs or I will kill you without a second thought."

He lessened his hold and stepped off of him, prepared for any sudden move. Rain hopped up, growling, but nodded to his trapped dogs. Sypher gave his friends a slight nod and they stepped back, letting the dogs leave with Rain.

The last one out the open gate was Rain, who looked back at Sypher once more. "This isn't over, Sypher. Just don't count on me staying away forever."

As soon as he was gone, Maria, Angel, Kemp, and another dog ran over to Sypher, who was staring after the enemy dogs.

"Syph, are you okay?" Maria questioned, looking him over and inspecting him to make sure he was alright.

Sypher turned to her, his eyes distant and in some other thought. "I'm fine."

Although he would never admit it, part of him was missing the Rain that had once been, the Rain that had always been by his side. But he knew it was time to move on, he had Bolt to train now.

Which reminded him of the dog still on the ground, oblivious to everything that was going on.


	19. New Dawn

**Author's Note : So . . . was anyone surprised at the last chapter of was it just me?**

 **...**

 **~Chapter 19~**

The moon was now beginning to finally fade away, before long the sun would begin to rise. It would be at least another forty-five minutes or more before the moon vanished and it become dawn.

It had been a long night. Very long. But now the events had taken a peaceful, calming turn and it was the perfect time to reflect on everything. _Everything_.

Sypher was standing guard over Bolt's yard, his senses on alert but his mind wandering and full of thoughts. After Maria had left with all the other guards and S.S.A.O.N.A members, Sypher had stayed and watched over Bolt, who was still unconscious in the grass.

He hoped that Rain hadn't hurt Bolt before he had gotten there, any more than knocking him out. To think, everything they had gone through during those hours, only to have Bolt harmed.

Although Sypher was worried about Bolt not waking yet, he also didn't want him to. Because, after everything that had happened - Rain showing up, kidnapping Bolt, knocking him out - Sypher would have to explain everything to Bolt. _Everything._ Who Arrow was, who he truly was, what was going on, who Volt was . . . And that was nothing to look forward to.

If Sypher knew Bolt, and he did, the dog wouldn't let anything get away from him until he knew all the answers to his questions. Which meant that Sypher would be forced to tell him, anyway.

And then Bolt's life would forever be in danger, until he somehow stopped his evil brother from destroying all of humanity.

Other than those thoughts, Sypher was going over what had happened, not tonight, but several months ago.

What had he done wrong, if anything, to make Rain choose Volt over him? Had it started before the mission to find Bolt on his cross-country trip? Or during that? Whatever had happened, it was surprising and Sypher now had time to actually sit and take apart everything.

Going back years, many years, Sypher reflected upon Bolt's and Volt's childhood. They were always close, had a wonderful, tight bond as brothers, and were always getting into mischief.

Sypher, on some occasions, would stop them if Arrow or Maria were busy, and during those few times did he get to witness their close friendship as brothers, a seemingly inseparable one. Volt, as the oldest, would always be the one with the ideas, but he would let Bolt help him out with deciding and planning.

A small smile tugged at Sypher's lips as he remembered, quite clearly, one of the times the duo had gotten into trouble. It was before Arrow and his mate had moved to the current Headquarters, and both of them had planned on tricking Sypher.

Not being around them much as they had begun to grow up, when he was around they loved to play pranks on him. And most of the time they succeeded in either tricking him or getting him to laugh.

On this occasion, the small puppies had been waiting for Sypher to arrive from a scouting mission, back when the S.S.A.O.N.A had only been a place to help strays find homes, a seemingly harmless trick planned. When Sypher did come back, weary and exhausted from being gone for two days, he had been about to head inside the first abandoned Headquarters, when he saw the two dogs heading for the woods. The woods, which were full of dangerous things for such young pups, and a place that they were prohibited from going to.

So Sypher had dumbly followed them, unaware of what they were going to do. Calling their names, Sypher ran into the woods, not seeing them anywhere. How could they just disappear in ten seconds? Walking deeper into the mess of dark trees and broken branches, Sypher started searching under every possible surface that they could have fit under, being not even as tall as Sypher's knee.

And then, from somewhere deeper, a small yipping sound. His ears picked up the sound, and he turned toward it, just as the yips turned into ones of terror and fear. Then there was a growling sound, like that of a large, rabid dog. Eyes widening, Sypher dove for the sound, determined to locate the dogs and their attacker.

A split second later, when the Cattle Dog reached them, he saw two things; a smiling, yipping white dog sitting next to a smiling growling black dog. They couldn't have been over three months old, so small and innocent, sitting there on the dirt covered ground. When they saw their defender, they broke into uncontrollable laughs.

While Sypher stood there, glaring, Bolt fell to the ground, still laughing, pulling Volt with him. They rolled and continued their cackling, not caring to about the fact that they nearly gave Sypher a heart attack from hurrying to get to them.

He let it go on for a minute before saying, "Boys, that was _not_ funny."

"Oh come on, Syph!" Bolt said, pushing himself onto his feet, his right ear flopped to the side. "That _was_ funny! You had no idea what was coming!"

"You're not even supposed to be in the woods behind Headquarters!" Sypher reprimanded them. Volt stood up as well, grinning like a maniac. "You know your mother will be upset when she finds out!"

"But who said she will?" Volt grinned, a glint in his eyes. "If you don't tell her and we head back to the house now, she will never know."

"Right!" Bolt chimed in, giggling again.'

"And why wouldn't I tell her? After a trick like that?" Sypher raised an eyebrow.

Volt winked, _tried_ to, and started trotting back, out of the woods, Bolt tagging along at his heels without another word. Sypher turned and watched them as they walked side by side, ignoring Sypher and for some reason positive that he wouldn't tell on them.

He hadn't ever told either of their parents, not then and now ever.

A rustling sound brought Sypher's attention back to the present moment, where reality was that both brothers were no longer close, no longer friends, one of them trying to capture the other. And one of them, the one Sypher was currently with, didn't even know of Volt. Yet. Sypher would still have to explain everything to him . . .

Bolt's eyes opened, half way at first, but they opened completely as the dog realized that he was not inside on the bed. He lifted his head halfway before groaning and laying it back down, staring at Sypher, who was now standing beside him.

The dog standing was regretting the next question he knew for sure that Bolt would ask. And his answer, he was going to regret his answer to Bolt's question, how it would be the beginning of a whole new life for the younger dog. A beginning of a dangerous life that had been previously unknown.

"Are you a hallucination?" Bolt mumbled, staring skeptically up at Sypher. "Because I don't remember coming out here to meet you."

"No, I'm not a hallucination." Sypher said, stalling.

"Ok, good," Bolt began to push himself off the ground, ignoring the pain. "Then, may I ask, how on earth did I get from inside the bedroom to way out in the grass?"

For a second, Sypher was slightly confused. The group of dogs that had been watching over Bolt's house while Sypher was stuck at Volt's lair had reported to him that Bolt had come outside, looking as though he was had a purpose for doing so. Why wouldn't Bolt know that reason? Unless . . .

"You don't know why you're out here?"

Bolt squinted, then closed his eyes. When they were opened, he looked toward the moon as if searching for an answer. "Come to think of it, no, I don't. Tell me."

"But how could you have come all the way out here?"

"I don't remember anything other than going to bed and dreaming, that's all," said Bolt. "I don't know why I would be out here."

Sypher was horribly confused now, unsure how this could have happened or what it meant. But then, in the midst of the confusion, a flicker of hope. If Bolt truly did not remember why he had come out, what had happened, Sypher would not have to tell him the truth.

"Wait, what are you doing in my backyard?" Bolt asked with a hint of suspicion. "Did I invite you and just don't remember it?"

"Um, no," Thinking fast, an idea came to Sypher's mind. "I . . . I, uh, was walking through this part of the neighborhood when I heard you come out of your house. Yeah, so I just thought I would check it out, see what you were doing at such a late hour."

Bolt raised his eyes, a prompt to continue.

"When I came into your yard, you had this dazed look on your face, and it was like you didn't even see me," He continued, coming up with ideas as he spoke. "And then . . . then you laid down on the grass and I guess went back to sleep."

Looking to see if his false story had been accepted by Bolt, he saw Bolt staring at him with an unreadable expression.

"My life is so weird," Bolt shook his head, sitting. "It's too bad I don't remember any of this, because it would have been pretty funny." Sypher relaxed a bit, relieved, as Bolt started talking again. "But then why didn't you wake me up? I mean, it's pretty obvious that you've been here the whole time I was . . . sleeping or whatever."

"Because you looked peaceful," Sypher smiled. "I didn't want to disturb you."

Nodding his head, accepting the answer, Bolt yawned. "Ok. That was nice of you. I don't why I would be out here at this time of night, maybe sleepwalking. But it doesn't really matter now, thanks, Syph."

"My pleasure."

"Well," Yawning, Bolt wore a tired, still partially asleep look. "If that is all taken care of, I am going back inside to go back to bed."

"Good idea."

Bolt turned and started walking toward the back of the house, back to the doggy door. He stopped after a few steps and twisted his head around to look at the other dog. "Oh, and goodnight. If, you know, it could be considered that." He shook his head and started walking, mumbling to himself, "This is the weirdest, most eventful night I have ever experienced."

Sypher stood in the yard and waited until he was sure Bolt was inside, heading back to his bedroom. When he was postive that he was alone, he nearly died of relief.

He didn't have to tell Bolt the truth; Bolt believed him. This night hadn't resulted in a total fail; the white dog was safe, the connection was working again at Headquarters, Angel and her group were rescued. Everything was going to be fine. For now, at least.

But now was better than never, and Sypher gladly accepted it.

 **...**

"You failed to apprehend the dog?" Volt's voice echoed in the room, dark and filled with barely contained fury. " _Twice_?"

Rain ducked his head, silently snarling. How could he have failed this importantly dire mission? "Yes, sir."

Volt spun around, standing face to face with the other dog. "And why is that, Rain? I, myself, thought your mission was quite simple. What caused you to not complete this?"

"Well, sir, it started with the fact that Sypher wasn't supposed to be present while we kidnapped the dog," Rain raised his head, but kept it slightly listed as a show of authority to his leader. "I thought that he was here and wouldn't escape, which would insure the capturing of your brother."

"Are you saying that the fault lies with the problems at the base?" Volt sounded impressed by how Rain had changed the problem from him to what had happened with Sypher escaping. "And not with you and your dogs?"

"Quite right, sir."

Volt looked to the ceiling as he contemplated this new idea. It took him several minutes to decide where the blame would be put, but when he chose, he looked the other dog in the eyes again.

"Very well, Rain," Volt said, turning back around so the other dog could not read his expression. "I will accept that for now, but do not forget that this was partly your fault that the plan failed."

"Yes, Master Volt."

Inhaling, Volt stepped forward, closer to the large windows that showed the rising of dawn, the brightness of a new day. The promising of yet another devious plan to kidnap Bolt and destroy his life for everything Bolt had done to him in his life.


	20. Perfectly Oblivious

**Author's Note : We have (*sniff sniff*) finally reached the final chapter of Dark Reality . . . And stars above, this has been a memorable trip of writing. I must thank, especially, starfiction123 for commenting and making me want to continue with this story. And now . . .**

 **...**

 **~Chapter 20~**

"So . . ." Bing drawled, standing at the doorway. "In the end you didn't have to tell the dog the truth?"

"No, Bing," Sypher said from the circle of dogs - Arrow, Maria, Carter, Angel, and another dog. "He accepted my tall tale."

Bing walked into the room, rolling his eyes. "Figures. At least he didn't question it, or else we would be in deep trouble."

"Right," Arrow turned back to the other dogs in the circle. "As we were saying -"

"We were at the part where you tell Sypher that all the attacks have been stopped and the enemy dogs been removed," Thumping his tail on the floor, Carter's eyes were wild with happiness and excitement. "And then, like you said, I get to tell him about the computers up and running again!"

"He knows, Carter," Arrow said. "He had to pass a dozen rooms full of them before he reached this room."

Carter's face fell, and he suddenly looked sad, as if that had shattered his world. Three full seconds of letting him stare up at the others was as far as Sypher let it go on before looking up to the ceiling and saying, "Ok, fine, I don't know anything about computers and didn't see anything. What were you going to tell me, Carter?"

"Oh!" Carter's smile returned at full force again. "Ok, so I have this really, really, really interesting and exciting news! We got the computers up and running again!"

Sypher feigned surprise. "That's wonderful. Now, back to what we were discussing."

"What were you discussing?" Bing said, standing outside the small circle. "Because I think I missed out on half of this."

"That is because we didn't invite you," Sypher shrugged. "If we had, you would have been informed several minutes ago."

"And why didn't you?" Bing scowled, his default expression. "Turns out that I have been neglected on some of these recent plans and events of the night."

"You weren't needed," Maria said, not in a mean way. "Well, not needed in the main action. Everything turned out perfectly fine."

Unsatisfied with this answer, Bing came and sat next to the group. "Fine. Then I can at least figure out everything that has happened from listening to y'all yapping on."

"Or you could go do you job," Carter smirked his way. "Instead of conversing with us yappers?"

"I don't have a real job," Bing grumbled. "I don't get to do anything but sit around until someone is injured or near-dying and then - only then - do I get to spring into action."

"Which is rare that that happens," said Angel. "Don't worry, Bing. You'll be needed more in your life."

"Yeah, right."

"We have strayed so far from topic that I don't quite remember what we were talking about," said the other dog, named Wachi, chuckled. "Do we want to continue this talk on a later date?"

"Maybe after we get some rest?" Sypher suggested. "These past few days have been very long."

" _Nights_." Arrow corrected teasingly. "Long _nights_."

The Cattle Dog glared at the dog across from him. "Right, that is what I meant."

"Perfect idea," Maria got up and shook off her coat, the dust that had collected from the floor. "I think we all need to rest. And now that Bolt is safe and we are all back at Headquarters, we can all just take the night off."

"Morning," Arrow said, smiling. "It's morning, now, Maria."

"Oh. I forgot," She gave him a smile in return. "Maybe we need a clock around here."

They all stood, almost in unison. All except Bing, who just sat there and stayed straight ahead with an annoyed look. "Alright fine. I guess I will never know anything about Angel, Poppy, and Kemp getting kidnapped or how on earth Sypher managed to escape from Volt's once-a-secret lair."

"I guess not." Sypher said as they started to file out of the room.

When they got out into the hallway, Arrow motioned for Sypher to stop. Sypher did so, and when the others had dispersed, Arrow spoke to him.

"Honestly, Sypher, I wanted to thank you for what you have done tonight," He said, sincere. "Although it was very, very difficult to run this place without you, you helped by rescuing the three and then saving Bolt's life, once again. Thank you for all of that, and everything else you have done."

Sypher let a smile spread on his muzzle. "My pleasure, Arrow. You know I would do anything for this agency, for you and Maria. And yes, I would do anything for Bolt as well. He is becoming just like Rain was." At the mention of the other dog, Sypher's smile faltered.

Arrow picked up on it easily. "I realize that this was probably really hard, the fact that Rain . . . It was very surprising when we found out, I can only imagine what it was like to personally be there to find out."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Sypher attempted a shrug, to show that it didn't affect him, but the movement was tense and false. It _did_ affect him, and it was obvious. More obvious than he had hoped, but there was nothing he could do to change it. "But . . . things change, as much as we all hate to admit it. Not everything can remain perfect and the way we want it, not everyone can have a heart for the hardest side, the good side. And why I say that it is the hardest is because we can't be like the enemies, we have actually got to care and be careful. He have to look out for our friends, our fellow fighters, and force the instinct of killing down so that as many dogs that can live, will live. It is hardest because the temptation of doing whatever you want and having supposed freedom tries to draw you in, to suck you into their horrible, messed up world, and you have to fight it. In the end, it is a test to see who was the strongest, who made the right choices and continued the fight to stay good. Not all of us can turn the temptation away, but those who can are true dogs."

It was silent in the hall as Sypher's words settled.

Arrow nodded, smiling. "Then, Sypher, I guess we know what you are."

Sypher returned the smile, and together they walked down the dusty hall, each to their own separate duties.

 **...**

"I hate him," Mittens grumbled, climbing over the mound of covers and blankets on the bed. "I hate that dog. I hate him!"

Bolt was tucked beneath the mess of it all, still in a deep state of sleep. The sun was coming in clearly through the windows, a sign that it was well past waking time. But no, he had to sleep in so that Mittens got upset.

"Bolt, wake up!" Mittens pounced on him, her tail flapping up and down. "Wake up, you mutt!"

He groaned and snorted something incomprehensible. Stayed asleep.

"Come on, fluffy," She changed to clawing at him with her paws, since she did not have paw nails. "If you don't get up I am going to finish that bacon in your bowl."

"Go ahead," Bolt grumbled, his voice muffled in the thick covers. "See if I . . . care."

"Ugh!" Mittens paused to catch her breath, glaring down at the dog. "You know, I hate that dog. If you two went out again and that is why you're sleeping in this late . . ."

No response, not even a twitch from him. He stayed completely still, motionless. Stayed asleep.

"WAKE UP!" Mittens screamed into his ear and started hissing, pouncing on top of him and shaking him furiously.

She continued to jump on him until she got a reaction: a groan and a slight turn of his head. She jumped harder, hissing and mewing in an attempt to awake him.

Bolt groaned again but it was cut off sharply when she landed hard on his side, making him wheeze instead. He sat up, trying to push her off of him, and then she finally stopped. He stared at her with confused, sleep dazed eyes, trying to figure out what was happening. His mind was spinning, and he was dizzy from getting up so quick.

Mittens was not at all happy, he could easily tell, and from the looks of it, it was morning time. Time to wake up. Or maybe, a little later than that. Perhaps noon?

"If that dog caused you to wake up late again, I am going to kill him the next time he opens his muzzle to speak!" Mittens exclaimed, huffing. "I hate that dog."

"I see," Bolt smacked his lips. "That wouldn't be very pretty, now would it?"

"You, dog, are in trouble for staying in bed so long!" She said, jumping off the bed. "You had better get downstairs or I will get Penny up here!"

"Penny doesn't care if I sleep in late," Bolt looked down to the floor, measuring the distance from the bed. "Otherwise she would have woken me up before you got here."

Mittens stuck her nose in the air and trotted out of the room. Bolt shook his head and leapt down, stumbling when he hit the floor awkwardly. And then he followed her path, downstairs to his awaiting family, perfectly happy and oblivious to what had happened the night before.

 **...**

Volt walked through the soft, growing grass, flanked by a group of electricians and guards alike. He never liked traveling far from his main base, which had been hidden and an unknown location until just recently, but he realized the importance of this.

Due to his most recent failed mission, Volt had decided on yet another plan, this one darker than ever imagined before. It would take time to put into place, years at least. In that time he would not pause in his attempts to kidnap, capture, and use his brother, to destroy him. He would just be temporarily distracted while he took the next step in his plan.

After several long minutes of walking through tall grass, through thick brush and shrubs, they came to an empty circular field-like area, the moonlight shining and glowing and reflecting off the shortened grass.

Volt looked around - nobody but he and his dogs, nothing but grass before it turned to woods again, emptiness. He smiled, in a way that would send goosebumps down a person's arms. Slowly stepping out into the field, Volt turned a full circle.

"This," Volt whispered, turning just right so that his scar hit the moonlight and gave an eerie, haunting look. "This will work just perfectly."

 **...**

 **Final Note : You have now completed this story. And wow, I didn't expect it to get this far. I really didn't know what was going to happen after the first chapter or so, but as things went along I felt it smooth out. Sorry for the drastic delay in chapters, this was supposed to be done in a single month. :/ As for more FanFictions to follow this story, I** _ **will**_ **be posting some hopefully within the next few months (Camp NaNo next month) and it will be the next book following this ... these stories. Story. Whatever. Anyway, thank y'all so much for the support, hope you enjoyed reading this!**

 **~Firepower**


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